Safe Haven
by ElenaxoxoSilber
Summary: Alex Kennedy is selected to be Prentiss' BAU replacement. While there, she meets know-it-all genius Dr. Spencer Reid and the team, all who quickly become her family and home. She soon struggles to deal with her feelings and catching serial killers all at the same time. What's a girl to do?
1. The Strangler

**A/N: Please for the love of god review this because this is my first criminal minds story (and first 3rd pov story) and wow i'm so nervous! Much love to all you readers! This is a longer chapter than I usually post! Just wanted to get the first chapter up and running. XO- Elena**

* * *

"Alex." She stated in a strong, forceful voice. A frown took over her lips and she cleared her throat, changing tone. "It's Alex." She shook her head. "I'm Alex!" She jutted her hand towards the full length mirror in front of her. "I'm pathetic." She said in the same tone, her plastered smile dropping. It was hopeless. Like practicing greetings to a mirror would prepare her for this day. Not all the coffee in the world could even help her at this point.

Alex Kennedy quickly stopped her greeting practicing and looked down at her current outfit before deciding the button down top she wore made her look like an eighty-year-old grandma.

"Okay, no. Definitely not." She sighed, shrugging out of the blouse. The phrase "dress to impress" repeated over in her mind like a mantra. Her bed was piled with clothes yet she was still donning only a bra and underwear while running around her room like a headless chicken trying to find something to wear. She groaned, running her hands over her face as her eyes met the clock. She needed to be at the BAU in forty-five minutes and if she didn't worry, she was going to be ugly and late. Being Alex was just upgraded from intern to agent, being late on her first day probably wasn't the best impression. She was already on thin ice with Section Chief Erinn Strauss for being put into this specific team—even with the training she endured.

The FBI's BAU—Behavioral Analysis Unit—had been Alex's dream job ever since she could remember. She was never one of those girls who had a problem picking their major in college; from day one she had set her mind to working her ass off on psychology and forensics. Alex was the assigned replacement for Agent Emily Prentiss, her team's former agent who had relocated to London to run INTERPOL. Alex had known Emily prior to the FBI—an old friend she met through her parents—and she was the one Alex had to thank for getting her into this job. Emily had somehow worked her magic by convincing Strauss to transfer Alex from the Rapid Deployment & Technology Unit to becoming the real deal—a member of the BAU team. So here she was at a mere twenty-six years old, ready to start her first real big job yet feeling like she was about to be the new girl at a grade school. She couldn't help but wonder what her co-workers would be like and what her team would be like. What if they didn't like her? She prayed her colleagues liked her as much as they did Emily.

Alex nervously chewed on a granola bar, glaring at the various outfits spread in front of her. Deep down inside, she was wishing jobs like this required sweat pants and baggy t-shirts, but alas she was out of luck. You win some you lose some with high profile jobs like these. Casual Friday's probably wouldn't be a thing. With an annoyed groan, Alex finally decided on her outfit" fitting black slacks, a white chiffon tank, and a black blazer. In the midst of finishing her small breakfast, she took her brown locks down from their pony tail and brushed them out while ever so often anxiously looking over to the clock and fretting the worst. She cursed herself out for spending too much time on her makeup this morning, even if she did want to look good. Her hopes of being early were slowly fading. Slipping on a pair of nude sandal heels, Alex took the last bite of her disappointing breakfast and positioned herself in front of the mirror once again. More than surprised, she managed to pull herself together. Though her skin was hot and she wanted nothing more than to stand in front of the freezer, she had to get going eventually. Being late made her anxiety charts hit the roof.

"There's nothing to worry about. I'll be fine. I'll be good." She muttered to herself, biting the inside of her lip and praying her comforting words were true.

* * *

The elevator chimed as Alex reached the sixth floor of the BAU. The doors slowly retracted, revealing a large lobby and a set of open glass doors that lead into the large office area. Her throat dried out and her heart began pounding against her chest cavity as her feet reluctantly moved her forward. At this point, she was totally okay with turning around and going back home. No, she chastised. It was like ripping off a band aid—she just had to get it over with. With a leap of faith, Alex stepped through the doors of the BAU, her eyes beaming at every nook and cranny of the office. Everything looked so…official. Sure, she worked in the FBI office before but this, this was different. It wouldn't be sorting papers and interviewing for hours on end. Most of the BAU employees were just getting to work, a reminder that Alex was on time and she needed to stop obsessing over her fear of being unprofessionally late. Alex watched workers stroll into the office. Even they looked official. Even the group of four standing a little way from her casually chatting looked official.

"How's the new agent?" One of the women asked, curiosity sparking her tone.

"We're not sure. I heard he'll be in today, though." One of the men replied. While continuously looking around frozen in her spot, Alex finally admitted defeat knowing she'd never find her lead agents office alone.

"Wonder what having a new guy on the teams going to be like. You excited baby girl?" One of the men quietly laughed. Swallowing fear and stubbornness, Alex trotted over to the group of two men and two women.

"Excuse me," She clutched onto the black bag hanging at her side, "do you know where I can find Aaron Hotchner? I'm his new agent." The group became still and quiet, noticing the unfamiliar face in their office. To her left stood a blonde woman donning a black and white British flag dress, with earrings and necklace to match. Her curls were tangled in with neon pink flowers in her hair. Her bright pink glasses weren't the only thing to make a statement, a large bag filled with London themed items hung from her hands. Beside her was an attractive man with the most beautiful caramel chocolate skin she'd ever seen. A smile lifted his lips, showing off his insanely white teeth as he let out a surprised chuckle. Beside him stood a petite blonde who had the face of a Victoria's Secret model. Immediately, Alex felt self conscious. A small replica of a red trolley toyed in the blonde's hands. Lastly, in between the blonde and Alex, stood a man who looked to be around her own age. Unruly, sandy brown hair framed his angular face. Hints of stubble sat on his upper lip and chin. The mans patterned button down, tie, cardigan, and Louis Vuitton messenger bag made him question her entire outfit choice. She totally should have gone with the skirt. Damn.

"You're Alexander?" The older of the two men questioned. Why did they all look so confused and—wait, Alexander?

"Alexandra," She corrected with a chuckle, "but Alex works too." Did they just call her by a mans name? The petite blonde blushed.

"God, I'm so sorry. Kevin must have typed in a computer glitch when sending the file out. I'm Agent Jareau, but just call me JJ." She flashed a friendly smile. "I'll take you to Hotch, you can meet these guys in the briefing room." JJ smiled.

"Thanks." Alex said with a breath of relief. JJ ushered her forward and around an abundance of desks. She craned her neck around before waving her fingers at the remaining three agents she left behind.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Alex. Sorry we're all so frazzled. Spencer and I just got back from a case in Seattle and Derek and Penelope just got back from London. Heck of a Monday, right?" JJ laughed, making small conversation.

"Am I on their team?" She questioned.

"Yes! Sorry. Yes, we're all on your team! I'll introduce you to everyone once we're all together. Hotch—sorry, Hotchner's—office is right through that door. He may look scary but I swear he doesn't bite. I'll see you in a few minutes!" Before Alex knew it, JJ was off. Alex lightly tapped her knuckles against the wooden door and she could hear Agent Hotchner calling her to come in.

"Can I help you?" He lifted his head from doing paperwork.

"Hi." Her voice timidly squeaked. She cleared my dry throat. "Sorry, hi. I'm the new team—"

"Yes, Alexandra Kennedy. Emily told me a lot about you." Agent Hotchner walked over to her and gave me a firm handshake. His facial features were just as firm as his handshake. They were like stone.

"I hope only good things." She joked with immediate regret. It was her first day on the job, she couldn't make jokes yet. Especially not to her team leader.

"Of course. Welcome to the team, it's nice to finally meet you." He nodded.

"Likewise. I'm excited to get going."

"Well, that will be sooner than later for you. We just got called in for a case."

"Already?" The words blurted out before she could filter herself. Shit, she silently cursed. That was definitely not something you said to your boss.

"You'll get used to it. Go get settled at your desk and come to the briefing room in ten." He instructed.

"Yes sir," She nodded. "Thank you Agent Hotchner."

* * *

Like the punctual first day nerd she was, Alex was the first to be in the debriefing room. She stood around the wooden table, running my fingers over the leather seats while waiting for any members of her team to walk in. The first happened to be one of the same men from earlier.

"So you're the new boy, huh?" He smirked, crossing his muscular arms over his just as muscular chest.

"Hate to break it to you about the whole gender switch." She walked over to the man and shook his hand. His grip was even stronger than Agent Hotchner's. How much did this guy bench?

"Derek Morgan." He formally introduced.

"Alex Kennedy."

"Looks like we're going to have another Reid on the team. What are you, twenty-five?" Agent Morgan laughed.

"Twenty-six." She corrected. "What do you mean?"

"Morgan, do you know that —" The man her age from earlier walked in holding his messenger bag and clutching a cup of coffee for dear life. Coffee, that was just what she needed right about now.

"That's Reid." Agent Morgan threw his thumb at him.

"Doctor Spencer Reid." The man jutted his hand at her. She shook it, praying my palms weren't clammy. Doctor Reid retracted his hand after a quick shake.

"Kid joined the team at twenty-two."

"Wow." Her brows rose in genuine shock. Twenty-two? She was still in college going to bars on Friday nights with all her girl friends at twenty-two. She couldn't imagine having a solid FBI job. She noticed how ridiculously young Doctor Reid looked to be, well, a doctor.

"Looks like you're only a few years short. Statistically, the average age to become a member of the BAU is late twenties early thirties so you are ahead of most people already. By that age, most people are—" Agent Morgan put a hand over Doctor Reid's mouth.

"You'll also learn he's a genius that doesn't shut up". Agent Morgan flashed another smile.

"Seriously, Morgan?" Dr. Reid cried.

"It's not his fault he graduated high school when he was twelve. He's too smart for his own good." Alex was taken back again. Twelve? Did he just say twelve?

"Certified genius. Impressive." She noted.

"Thank you." He nodded.

"Looks like we've already got a case so you better prepare yourself." Agent Morgan said.

"Yeah, I heard. I'll try, Agent Morgan."

"Morgan." He corrected with a laugh. "We don't do any of that agent crap around here."

"Right." Alex pursed my lips. "What about you, Dr. Reid?"

"Doctor Reid works. Or Reid." He stammered. Morgan nudged him. "Reid works just fine."

"Good to know." She flashed a toothy smile. Alex turned around and finally took a seat. After Morgan muttered something to Reid, Reid fumbled over and took a seat next to her. Morgan took a seat beside him. Before they could get another word in, JJ, accompanied by the other blonde from earlier, walked in with an older man Alex recognized to be David Rossi. She tried keeping her cool, she really did. But on the inside, Alex was freaking out. The David Rossi, the man standing in front of her, was the author of the books displayed proudly on her bookshelf. She'd always been a big fan, running over to Barnes and Nobles whenever a new book was released. She would spend the day curled up on the couch reading. In her mind, he was one of the greatest nonfiction crime authors.

"So this is the Alexander I've been hearing about?" He gave a hefty laugh.

"That was a glitch on the computers part." The eccentric blonde winced as she admitted to him. Rossi leaned over the table to shake her hand. "SSA David Rossi."

"Former marine and writer of five best sellers. Big fan." She smiled, trying to contain my giddiness. "Alex Kennedy" She reciprocated the hand shake. Yet another strong handshake

"I like her already." Rossi nodded to the team, impressed. "Hotch told me you know Emily." Alex was quick on catching that Agent Hotchner was called 'Hotch' around here. Yet, Alex wouldn't dare to call him that herself.

"Old friend." She nodded.

"Can't be too old, you're more of a baby than Reid when he joined!"

"Few years older, actually. I've heard all about boy genius being a record setter." Reid mumbled something under his breath to Morgan.

"Penelope Garcia at your service." The eccentrically dressed blonde jutted in. "BAU tech analyst superstar and lover of all things pink and fuzzy. And can I just say how fabulous those shoes are." She complimented, causing Alex to furiously blush.

"Thank you."

"Garcia, don't embarrass the poor girl." Morgan laughed.

"What? Can't have a few girl to girl compliments in here? Ugh, too much testosterone I tell you." She shook her head.

"Good morning everyone, sorry to call you in so quick. I see you've all met Agent Kennedy, so let's get started." Hotch walked in with an older woman at his side. Alex's eyes gawked, quite surprised to see Erinn Strauss at his side. Strauss was the most intimidating woman Alex had ever met. During her interview, Strauss made her want to curl up into a ball and disappear from the face of the earth. Strauss gave Alex a quick nod before she began to hand out case files.

"A few hours ago there was a prison transfer to the county hospital in Abilene, Texas. The ambulance crashed and the prisoner escaped." Hotch explained.

"He's wearing the EMT uniform and he's armed with the guard's weapon." Strauss joined in and informed. Alex flipped open the case folder, seeing the police report along with the suspects mug shot.

"Aren't the US Marshalls on this?" Morgan wondered.

"Yes they are. But they need your help because this is what they found inside." Strauss pressed a button for the TV in front of the team to turn on. The picture showed the dead guard laying on the stretcher with a dead driver behind him. "The EMT and the driver died in the accident. The guard, however, suffocated." The screen focused in on the EMT in the white shirt. Strauss reluctantly clicked to another picture of the guard. The edge of his mouth was bloody and it looked to be shut with something.

"What's on his mouth?" Alex piped up.

"Sutures. It was sewn shut." She announced.

"So it's The Silencer?" JJ realized.

"Or this guys a copycat." Rossi thought.

"Forensics confirmed it's the same unique double-knot ligature he used in all three murders." Hotch informed.

"His last known victim was in 2004 and he was never caught." Reid informed.

"Why not just escape? If he hadn't sewn the guard's mouth shut, we should never have known it was him." Morgan thought.

"He wants us to know he's back." Rossi believed.

"What's his name?" Alex asked.

"John Doe. He was pulled over in '04 for a traffic violation. No registration, no tags, no ID."

"Eight years for all that?"

"They searched the car and found a gun with a silencer." Hotch added.

"A silencer? He was practically telling them who he was and no one made the connection." Rossi shook his head.

"It's a federal offense, carries a 30-year minimum sentence. But it was actually what he did inside that guaranteed him life without parole." We all reviewed the file.

"He killed two men while inside." JJ rose a brow.

"And never said a word." Reid added.

"Or speaking with his fists. There's got to be something wrong." Alex flipped through the report on John Doe. "Remaining silent for 8 years takes a hell of a lot of self-restraint. Not saying a lot is understandable but not saying absolutely one word? How do we know he's not mute? A condition response?" Alex questioned, her cheeks burning red as she realized she was talking too much.

"Garcia's gathering all the files from '04. We'll catch up on the plane. Wheels up in thirty." Hotch announced.

* * *

It's a known fact that Alex Kennedy is a horrible listener. But for once in her life, she took advice from the great Emily Prentiss and packed a bag to keep in her car if a case popped up. And _bam_ , just like that, she was off on her first day. While Rossi, Hotch, Morgan, and JJ sat in the quad seats by the window, Alex sat across from Reid on one of the couches. The six of them reviewed the case files from 2004.

"Did any of you work this case?" She was the first to break the silence.

"That was during my extended sabbatical." Rossi shrugged. Hotch shook his head.

"We all consulted but never went to Texas." There was a moment of silence.

"Seriously?" She blurted out, her filter clearly gone to the wind. "I'm sorry, sir. I just don't understand. Three women? Four months? That's an unbelievable kill rate. And the signature is undeniable. Surrogates no doubt". Alex looked up and timidly met Hotch in the eye. He didn't look mad.

"We weren't invited by the local police." He pursed his lips.

"Wow." She sighed.

"Welcome to our world." He commented. While the rest of the team continued to consult, Alex reviewed the case in her own silence. What exactly besides shutting his victims up did The Silencer want to accomplish?

"Kennedy and I will head to the US Marshalls." She heard Hotch finish speaking. She looked over to him and nodded, wishing she paid attention more as he talked.

* * *

Texas heat was like nothing Alex could compare to. Growing up, she'd been used to DC weather. Texas was like sitting in a sauna with a coat on. It made her think of how much she wanted to stand in front of the freezer earlier. Thankfully, the US Marshall's office was fully air conditioned and made Alex feel like her brain wasn't melting out of her ears.

"SSA's Hotchner and Kennedy." Hotch greeted the man waiting in the lobby.

"Bob Tilghman. Thank you for coming, I got my whole team on this."

"Any leads?" Hotch asked as the two walked through the office.

"Well the wreck happened out in the middle of no where and the sun comes up at six so we figure he's somewhere within a 12-mile radius of the accident site." Tilghman explained.

"You think he's moving on foot in this heat?" She shockingly asked. She'd be surprised if the unsub didn't die of a heat stroke by the end of this.

"It'll kill you under the best conditions. He stole some supplies but not enough to hold up too long. You can expect him to be active tonight."

"Where can we set up?" Hotch wondered.

"Right in here." Tilghman pointed ahead. While the three walked past the cubicles, Alex could smell a pot of fresh coffee. The scent wafted up her nose, catching her attention immediately.

"Any coffee here by chance?" She wondered, dying to get some caffeine in her system to wake her up.

"Just started a pot!" Tilghman happily announced, the words like music to her ears.

"Perfect." She smiled. Tilghman led the two agents into a room set up just for them. There were two glass boards filled with John Doe's mug shot, most wanted posters, and pictures of the recent crime scene.

"We got his picture plastered up everywhere, but if he's hiding. He's hiding. It's gonna be awful hard to weed him out." Tilghman sighed. Alex looked at the boards, crinkling my nose and frowning.

"One thing you'll learn about me is that I'm not good at waiting." She looked up to meet Hotch's gaze.

"Neither am I." He agreed.

"Does the media know about this?" She turned around and asked Tilghman.

"No, we've been trying to keep them at bay. They don't know too much." She nodded in comprehension. Two officers carried in a couple of boxes containing the case files from '04.

"We've got a few hours to figure out this guy inside and out. If he kills in the dark that's just what he'll do." Hotch announced.

* * *

An hour passed and Hotch had left Alex by her lonesome to review case files. With a disposable coffee mug in one hand and the third case file in the other, she stood in front of one of the boards reviewing the crime scene pictures from The Silencer's 2004 murders. Silently, she was thankful she wasn't chosen to visit the ME's office. She didn't think she could stomach the sight of a dead body and the guard's mouth sewn shut. It was bad enough in pictures. Sure, the bodies weren't mutilated but this looked like something straight out of a psycho movie.

"There's something about silencing his victims, something besides the symbolism. Maybe he's not mute, maybe he is. Maybe when he was a child he was derided for speaking by his mother? A sister? He might have a speech impediment and when others talk, he's mocking them like they mocked him." Alex thought as Hotch came up beside her.

"It would have been severe—a stutter maybe." Hotch believed. Her attention went from being focused on him to Rossi and Reid entering the room.

"We've got ourselves a reader over here." Rossi announced.

"In multiple languages." Reid added.

"He reads in French and most of his own writings are in English."

"Spanish, English, and surprisingly enough German are Texas' main languages." She informed. Reid paused.

"Yeah, that's right." He eagerly nodded. "His handwriting is the size of a courier type and so far I've read 50,000 words. The small print tells me he's methodical, not always social."

"That's no surprise." She thought. It would have been a big surprise to her if this guy was a social butterfly without speaking a word on record.

"The narrow spacing indicates a tremendous amount of irritability."

"Can I see that?" Alex asked Reid. He handed her pieces of yanked out journal entries sealed in evidence bags. Her eyes quickly scanned over the writing.

"It's like a stream of consciousness. He's thinking and the pen just goes. The books he reads are for someone who's smart, but his writing is a total 180." She mused.

"Could be what he grew up hearing." Reid shrugged. Rossi looked from Reid to her, his eyes narrow.

"There's two of them." He exclaimed to Hotch. Alex quietly chuckled. She was hardly a genius, she just had a thing for writing.

"He literally put words in the guard's mouth." Derek announced as he and JJ walked in holding up an evidence bag.

* * *

Once night fell, there was soon another murder. Reid and Alex were instructed to stay behind while the others investigated with CSI. The two of them worked in silence, reviewing the files and jotting down notes when thoughts crossed their minds. Once 9:45 hit, Alex decided to pour herself another cup of coffee. She could already tell it was going to be a long night. Alex sashayed over to the coffee station, pouring the remainder of the pot into her cup. After throwing cream in, she was back into the room with Reid. She sighed and sat down, taking a sip of the room-temperature drink. Well, the coffee wasn't like her favorite café brew back in Virginia. Alex continued to read another part of the case file as she nursed her coffee.

"You like coffee?" Reid piped up after a moment of silence. Alex had felt his eyes burrowing into her and she was worried she'd done something wrong. She looked up, relieving she wasn't doing something unknowingly humiliating.

"Yeah, it pretty much runs through my veins." She joked.

"That's great," Reid stammered, "I mean, it's not great but coffee's good. It's healthy." He rambled.

"Yeah, well, usually I'd switch to water at this hour but it looks like we're in for a long night." She sighed. The thought of sleep sounded like a dream right about now. Instinctively, she took another sip.

"I'm the same way."

"It's either this or a Five Hour Energy."

"You know those aren't good for your heart? It contains a mixture of vitamin B, excessive amounts of caffeine, and citicoline and it causes your heart to pump faster than normal. It's been linked to several deaths." Reid informed. Alex's lips puckered in attempt to stop myself from laughing but it was to no avail. "What?" Reid cocked his head.

"You just know everything." She shook her head in disbelief, a smile playing on her lips. "It's crazy. You're like a living Google."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." He believed. She immediately nodded.

"I wouldn't be grilling you for a bad thing, Doctor Reid." She grinned. Reid opened his mouth to talk but couldn't form words. Interrupting his lack of speaking, her phone buzzed on the table. Not knowing the number, she picked the call up anyways.

"Kennedy." She formally answered, feeling official.

"Hey, it's Morgan." He greeted.

"Hey, how's it going?" Her tone became more relaxed.

"We got another note. I need some outside opinion."

"I'm going to put you on speaker, ok?"

"That's how we do it." He agreed before stating the note. "Waiting on the taste of honey, the smell of summer."

"He's using the senses." She realized. "Sight, smell, taste? We're missing sound and touch."

"This guy's like Jekyll and Hyde." Morgan scoffed.

"I guess he thinks sweet notes make the murders less creepy." She rolled her chocolate eyes. What a sicko. "Thanks Morgan." And with that, she hung up.

"Maybe he's talking about a place." Reid thought.

"Yeah, but where?" She didn't think Reid, with that giant brain of his, could even answer that.

* * *

Towards midnight, the profile was given. Six hours later, the body of an unknown man was found with his baby—who was alive and well—nearby. Hours later the team was sitting at the table throwing out ideas. Alex was staring at left side of the unsubs face, particularly at the scar under his left ear.

"You know he never mentioned hearing?" She mused, her thumb pressed to her lips. In reply, she got confused faces and decided to elaborate. "In the senses. Hearing and touch are left out."

"Yeah, so?" Morgan shrugged.

"Why would he self inflict a wound under his ear if he couldn't hear?"

"Are you saying that he can?"

"I know I'm not crazy but I wouldn't try cutting my ear off if I heard nothing. If it's not broken, don't fix it." Alex announced, putting the folder on the table. "Getting himself into solitary confinement wasn't because of his rage, it was because he wanted silence."

"What about an implant?" JJ debated.

"Garcia, do any of the children have a cochlear implant?" Hotch asked into the phone.

"1988, John Myers."

"He was 14 at the time." Hotch realized.

"His mom was paid 650 bucks for the medical trial." Garcia revealed, sadness in her voice.

"Trial?" Alex piped up.

"Trial." She repeated. "Yikes, it was a highly experimental procedure. It was tested on humans and animals and caused quite the controversy." Garcia replied. Morgan quickly asked if he was deaf before the procedure.

"He had to be deaf in order to participate."

"So his mother gives him the gift of hearing that turns out to be a curse." Rossi said.

"His mom used him as a guinea pig. He spent the first 14 years of his life in silence and now he can't turn the noises off." JJ gravely said. A pang in Alex's gut made her feel sympathy for John Myers, but she quickly pushed it away. He was the murderer, not someone to feel bad for.

* * *

It was soon revealed John Myers' insolation cell neighbored one of a Danny Tucker, who owned a honey farm nearby that was just demolished for a housing development. Even sooner, Alex found herself in the car with Hotch, Morgan, and JJ on their way to Danny Tucker's home. Strapped in a bullet proof vest and gun plastered at her side, Alex was filled with fear.

"You ok?" JJ placed a hand on Alex's bouncing knee.

"Going into the field for the first time is a bit intimidating." She hated to admit it. All she ever wanted to be was a fearless bad ass who could do anything. But, that wasn't reasonable.

"Even after the first time it's intimidating," JJ laughed, "You never know what you're going to get really. It's always a surprise."

"Great." Alex's lips formed a tight line and a roll of nausea flowed through her stomach. The team's SUV pulled up to the Tucker home and they quickly filed out, the Marshall's behind them. Alex pulled out her gun and readied it. Blood pulsating through her veins echoed into her ears. Her heart felt like it was halfway up her throat, and if she made one move she'd choke on it.

"Danny!" A woman inside the house cried. "Danny please!" Without hesitation Hotch pushed open the door and all the agents were ushered in. This was it. There was no going back now. Alex's gun was raised firmly as she entered the house to see a woman and her daughter tied to two dining room chairs. Danny Tucker was unconscious in another one, the unsub looming over him with a needle and sutures. JJ rushed over to the mother and daughter, comforting them.

"John Myer, FBI show me your hands." Hotch yelled. The unsub craned his neck around and stared at the agent while Alex stood a way behind Danny Tucker's chair.

"Put down the gun." Hotch loudly demanded.

"John." Alex quietly piped up, putting one finger to her lips as she kept a solid grip on her gun. Her heart rattled against her chest, wondering how she was supposed to do this one sided conversation. She was horrible at making conversation. How the hell did she think she was supposed to talk down a mute unsub from killing someone? All she was sure of in that moment was that Hotch was being too loud, making the unsub more and more unstable.

"I know it's loud. Just put the gun down. It's okay." She spoke just above a whisper. The unsub's left eye twitched as he hesitated. Alex looked from Hotch to Morgan, praying they'd give her backup. "See? Here, I'll do it too." She demonstrated, slowly sliding the gun back into its holster. "I know you can do it too, John." The unsub suddenly began signing words so quickly it looked like a jumbled mess.

"Please slow down." Alex whispered, praying the two semesters of American Sign Language she learned in college would pull through. The unsub repeated the signs.

"He's a liar. There's no peace." She quietly reiterated the signs. "Who's a liar, John? Is it Danny?" He nodded. "There's no where to go. I'm not going back in there." She watched the unsub finish his hand motions while her heart sank. There were only two ways this would go: somehow the team would get the gun away from the unsub and he'd go back to jail or he'd kill himself.

"There's peace. But for this, there's no other way." Alex shook my head, looking sympathetically at the unsub. His lips formed a line and he swallowed a hard lump in his throat. His dry lips quivered before he stood up and backed up against a wall. His eyes shifted from Danny then to Alex, silently giving his last words.

"John." Alex's voice rose, hoping to prevent the inevitable as he positioned the gun to his temple. The gun rang, Alex immediately squeezed her eyes shut, as she felt a liquid spray on her right arm and cheek. She refused to open her eyes, not after the unsub's body hit the ground nor when the daughter beside JJ whimpered. A shaky breath passed through Alex's lips. As much as she'd been dreading it, Alex's eyes slowly opened to the unavoidable scene. The unsub laid dead with a hole in his head while Hotchner and Morgan slowly laid their guns back into their holsters. And just like that, her first case was over.

* * *

"I'm sorry. That was out of my range. Especially for my first case." Alex quietly apologized to Hotch as they left the Tucker house and entered the thick wall of Texas heat. At this point, Alex didn't care what Hotch said. All she could think about was getting the blood splatter off of her.

"Yes and no. But, you handled that very well." He nodded. "By the look on his face, I don't think anyone's ever spoke to him with kindness before."

"No one deserves to have a life like that." She muttered. If the unsubs mother had used him as a guinea pig for a fat check, there was no way he'd ever heard kind words. At the end of the line of police cars, Rossi and Reid pulled up from visiting the honey farm. Even though the two had the best intentions, Alex couldn't think of talking to anyone right now. She stood beside the trunk of the SUV as Hotch unstrapped his vest. An officer came up to her with a damp towel, handing it over with a polite nod.

"Thank you." She nodded as well. Alex rubbed the damp towel over her arm, thankful to get the blood off. The thought of showering in a gallon of disinfectant crossed her mind, but she was sure she'd have to wait until she got back to Virginia.

"Don't blame yourself." Hotch spoke up.

"Huh?"

"Jail was his hell. He wasn't letting himself back in." Alex shook her head as Hotch spoke.

"I was stupid. It was stupid. I don't know why I thought I could handle a situation like that. Talking someone down…it isn't my job." She proceeded to scrub the blood off of her cheek.

"But you did your best. One way or another it would have ended the same way. I'm sorry your first case was such a messy one."

"It's the job. Thanks Agent Hotchner." She graciously stated. Hotch nodded, finally walking away over to a Marshall Agent who called him over.

"Are you okay?" Reid exclaimed, his eyes as wide as tennis balls, as he walked up to Alex with Rossi by his side. She reached up and closed the trunk of the car.

"Yeah," She nodded. "I'll be fine." She brushed past the two and decided to get into the car, not wanting to see or hear any more of this.

* * *

Walking into the BAU office later that night was like having an elephant lifted off Alex's shoulders. That was until Strauss was there to greet the team.

"Don't tell me there's another one." Rossi stopped in his tracks.

"There's always another one." Strauss sympathetically said. Alex closed my eyes, silently groaning. She knew what she originally signed up for with the job, but she didn't realize the case load.

"I told you we should have just gotten into our cars." Rossi sighed.

"Where are we off to now?" JJ disappointingly asked.

"Home. You need to spend at least one night in your own beds." Much like the coffee she had drank earlier yesterday, the words were like music to Alex's ears.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Alex rose a brow, patting Rossi on the back. "Later."

"Yeah, wait for me!" JJ called as Alex rushed to the elevator. Rossi and Reid followed in suit.

The four team members entered the parking garage, talking about how thankful they were to sleep in their own beds tonight.

"As much as I'm dreading this ride home, my beds going to be so worth it." Alex happily sighed.

"Amen to that." JJ agreed.

"I'll see you all in the morning. Sleep up." Rossi waved as he got into his shiny back Cadillac sedan. JJ slipped into her navy BMW.

"Really wish teleporting was a thing already." Alex joked.

"You know, by the year 2100 scientists claim that teleportation and time travel will exist." Reid informed.

"With that brain of yours I'm sure if you helped it'd be sooner." She suggested.

"Well, without the right technology it's inevitable." Alex quietly laughed at his reply, smiling even though she was too tired to move a muscle.

"Goodnight Reid."

"Goodnight, Kennedy." He called, bowing his head.

"We're not on the job." Alex called back. "It's Alex." She flashed a smile before slipping away into her own sedan, leaving a smiling, exhausted Dr. Reid behind.


	2. Opening Up To Strangers

**A/N: Hello beautiful readers and welcome back! This chapter is part one of 2, and is setting a background around Alex a little. Please, for the love of Spencer Reid, please review. I need inspiration!**

* * *

"Good morning you beautiful ray of sunshine!" An overly eager Penelope Garcia greeted Alex as she walked into the office two weeks later.

"Morning, Garcia!" Alex stifled a yawn and took another sip of coffee. She smiled as the vanilla flavor warmed her taste buds. Garcia frowned.

"Oh no. Looks like someone didn't catch some Z's."

"That's what coffees for." Alex smirked, taking another sip. The eccentric blonde frowned yet again.

"Don't tell me you're still working on those reports from yesterday."

"They aren't going to write themselves." Alex shrugged, tossing her bag onto the floor and plopping herself on top of her desk. She could still hang out till work technically started, right?

"Oh baby cakes, you need to take a break more than Hotch needs to smile."

"Garcia, it's my third week. Besides, this week has just been paper work. It hasn't been too bad."

"Morning Garcia, morning Kennedy!" Reid greeted with a smile as he took a seat at the desk across from Alex. A smile lit up Alex's face. Reid was possibly the only person in the world—besides Garcia of course—who could be this awake and positive in the morning.

"Morning, Reid." She replied.

"Now see? That is the face of someone who can sleep peacefully at night knowing his paperwork can be finished in the morning." Garcia exclaimed, pointing a manicured nail at the young doctor.

"Oh no, all my reports are done." Reid nodded, his lips forming a tight line. Garcia frowned.

"I end my case." Alex shook her head, her lips puckered to prevent herself from laughing at Garcia's I-was-wrong-for-once face. Alex swirled the remaining bit of coffee she had left in her cup. "Coffee, Reid?" She asked. Reid looked surprised at the question.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Yes! Five sugars please." Alex paused. Did he just say five? _Five_?

"Whatever helps you stay awake, Doctor." She threw a thumbs up and hopped off the desk top.

"You-you don't have to call me doctor. You can just call me Reid. Doctor Reid is fine. Or Doctor. You know, if you want." He stuttered. Garcia's eyes darted between the two young adults, her brow raising in suspicion. Was this Reid's twisted, strange way of flirting? Or was he just that awkward? He hadn't been that awkward when the two of them met. Garcia silently gasped, he totally thought she was cute.

"I know," Alex laughed, "I'm joking with you, Reid." She enunciated his last name. Alex walked off, leaving Garcia staring at Reid with suspicion.

"What?" He exclaimed.

Alex took her time getting the two coffee. Thankfully, she was met with her two current favorite things: a fresh brew and Morgan. Alex reached over Morgan and grabbed a cup for Reid, pouring the hot liquid to the brim of both their cups.

"Two? What were you up all night doing, Kennedy?" Morgan winked as he leaned against the counter.

"Ones for Reid you perv." She rolled her eyes, knowing Morgan was, per usual, being sarcastic.

"He likes a quart of sugar in there, don't go light." Morgan suggested.

"Yeah, he said five." She mused. "Why do I have a feeling he's going to be in a frenzy in a few minutes?"

"Nah, that's just Reid for you." Morgan grabbed a stirrer and popped it into his coffee before cutting the silence that overtook them. "So, you and Reid seem to be getting pretty friendly." He nudged Alex suggestively.

"Yeah," She nodded, pouring a ridiculous amount of sugar into Reid's coffee. "He seems like a pretty cool guy."

"Sweetheart, I know you're not oblivious and I know you know I didn't mean it like that." He chuckled. Alex turned to look at him with a straight face and raised brows.

"I mean as a coworker." She elaborated, pronouncing the world clear as day. "We've never even spoken out of work, so nice try _sweetheart_." Alex winked before snatching the creamer from Morgan's hand.

"Hang out with the boy! I'm sure you can find something other to do than talk about work and 16th century literature."

"Orrr," Alex dragged out, "I can continue going on about my daily life and not take suggestions from the BAU's sugar daddy himself." Derek feigned pain and placed a hand over his heart.

"That hurt kid. That hurt."

"You get shot at for a living. You'll live." Alex insisted with a laugh. She spun around on the heel of her boots and walked back to join Reid and Garcia.

"Is my dear old chocolate thunder giving you a hard time?" Garcia sighed.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Alex stated before walking to Reid's desk and handing him his hot coffee.

"Thank you." He beamed.

"Oh please. Baby girl, you know I'm not giving anyone a hard time" Morgan cackled as he walked up to the three. Suddenly, JJ walked by the group with a stack of papers in her hands and a scowl on her flawless features.

"Conference room in ten, guys." She announced gravely before disappearing into Hotch's office. Alex's shoulders fell in disappointment.

"I jinxed it. It's official, I have the worst luck in history." She sighed.

"Jinxing hasn't ever been proven. Everything that influences reality is already necessarily planned out so saying something to 'jinx oneself' is just purely a coincidence. It's funny if you really think about it." Reid informed.

"Not my type of funny, pretty boy." Morgan shook his head.

"Ignore him. Clearly somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Alex sarcastically pouted to Morgan, who mocked the face right back to her.

* * *

In the briefing room, Garcia reluctantly pulled up several pictures of a murdered Chinese family. Alex cringed at the site of their bloody bodies, causing Reid to shift his attention towards her as Garcia spoke. The new agent silently wondered if seeing these pictures would ever get any easier for her.

"Five days ago the Yamata family was abducted from their home in Kansas City, Kansas. Last night, a road crew found three members of the family John, Trisha, and their 16-year-old daughter Kristen all dead, all shot to death and left at the side of a highway. They were tipped off to the location by a drifter who is now MIA." The team began flipping through the case file, immediately skimming over important details—except for Reid, he was probably finished reading the entire file.

"The youngest child Scott is still missing." Morgan noted.

"Yeah." Garcia nodded solemnly, thinking of cute baby animals to get her mind off the thought of a poor young boy with this murderer. "Murder weapon was an unregistered 9 millimeter. It was found near the bodies. There were prints on the gun that were the fathers and gun residue on his hand".

"Driving the family out to where the crime scene was just seems extensive since most familicides happen at home." Alex thought aloud.

"And what happened to the son?" Morgan wondered.

"He either shot him first or wanted to spare him." Hotch believed.

"Is the son with a relative? He must have left him in a safe place before carrying it out." JJ positively thought.

"The next of kin hasn't seen him." Garcia announced.

"Guys wait a minute. The ME report said the gunshot reside was on the father's right hand. He's wearing his watch on his right arm so he's most likely left handed." Reid announced, tapping one of his fingers against the wooden table.

"Maybe someone set the father up to look like he did it." Rossi added. Before any of the team could add on, Hotch's phone rang and he excused himself before answering.

"I talked to the local police and there's no recent job loss, no obvious problems the Yamata's had so they're treating this as a disappearance."

"There's always deep rooted problems, though. Stuff the police didn't know about. Maybe John just had a secret messed up mind".

"I agree with Kennedy," JJ placed her file down on the table, "abducting a family is risky."

"Unless the son was the main target and the rest of the family was in the way." Rossi pondered.

"Remember sexual predator Matthew Hoffman? In 2010, he killed a mother, son, and family friend to take the 13-year-old daughter." Reid informed.

"There's some real sickos out there." Alex muttered.

"Welcome to the job." Rossi added with a quick, hefty laugh. Hotch walked back in with a sterner face than before.

"Another family, The Atklins, disappeared from a suburb of Kansas City. A father, mother, 17-year-old daughter, and an 11-year-old son."

"Same makeup as the Yamata family, though." JJ recognized.

"The fathers in a lawsuit for fraud so they may have disappeared voluntarily."

"Fat chance." Rossi scoffed.

"Exactly. Wheels up in thirty." Hotch announced.

* * *

Once they arrived in Kansas City, the team split up into groups of two and separated between the family homes and the police station. Reid and Alex were assigned to take the Yamata home while Rossi and Morgan took the newest abducted families. Alex drove the large, black Tahoe down the winding roads while thinking how different this car was than her small sedan. It felt like she was driving a tank. The windows were rolled down halfway and Alex casually flipped through radio stations to find something other than country.

"Hotch never lets us have the radio on." Reid informed nervously while looking at the case file sitting in his lap. "Or roll the windows down."

"Well that's why I'm more fun."

"It's probably against protocol."

"I'm surprised you haven't memorized the handbook on protocol." Alex smirked.

"Can we at least put the windows back up?" Reid tucked a sandy brown lock behind his ear.

"What's the matter pretty boy? Afraid of getting your hair messed up?"

"Oh not you too!" Reid cried, cringing at the Morgan's assigned nickname.

"I might just happen to hop on the Derek Morgan band wagon."

"Man." He groaned. Relieving Reid's stress, Alex rolled up the window and turned the music lower.

"Happy?"

"Extremely." He sarcastically huffed. "But for the record, I have to agree, you're more fun than Hotch."

"For a genius, you say some pretty obvious stuff." Alex laughed.

"Can you just accept the compliment and be nice?" Reid frowned. Stopping the car in front of the Yamata house, Alex threw it into park and turned towards Reid.

"Spencer Reid." She paused and laid my hand on his. His fingers twitched underneath hers. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Reid swallowed hard.

"Good. Now let's go." Reid retracted his hand from under hers and quickly left the vehicle in a beeline for the house. Alex huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. What the hell happened? Did she say something wrong? Even if she did, she didn't have another second to think about it. A young boy and another family's lives were at risk. Worrying about why she upset Reid wasn't on her to do list. At least, not at the moment.

Alex ripped off her seat belt and hopped out of the car. Reid had already entered the home and waited for Alex so they two could enter the young boys room together. The two squeezed their hands into blue latex gloves and began their extensive search. They looked around the room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. If Alex was a 10-year-old boy, this was how she'd imagine her room. Pictures of dinosaurs and space shuttles hung on the wall while dozens of dinosaur figurines littered the dresser and bookshelf. There was a bunk bed with the top bunk made and a white sheet covering the bottom one like a tent. Alex's heeled boots clicked on the wooden floor while she walked over to the dresser. She opened the top drawers, seeing neatly folded shirts. The smell of fresh laundry wafted into her nostrils.

"Well, he's definitely not at a relative's house. Nothings been touched. This looks like a typical ten-year-old boys room." Alex shut the drawers and walked away.

"This place brings back memories." Reid mused, looking up to the model of the solar system hanging from the fan above her. "When I was a kid I made a model of the universe out of salt."

"Science project?" She curiously wondered.

"Actually a birthday present for Carl Sagan. But I don't think he ever got it." Reid shrugged. She quietly giggled, imagining Spencer Reid as a child. There was no doubt the doctor was adorable now, but he must have been a catch as a kid. Alex could imagine his parents calling his name to take his heads out of books and eat for once. His love for academics must have always consumed him.

"You kill me Spencer." Alex immediately wanted to smack herself. She didn't mean to call him Spencer, it accidentally came out like that. It was informal, unprofessional, yet felt so natural. She had got so caught up in her thoughts it was obvious she wasn't thinking.

"Thank you?" Reid questioned. After a moment he realized what she had called him and Alex quickly turned around to look at the wall instead of at him as her cheeks burned red. She was a total and complete idiot. While staring at inevitably anything but Reid, Alex noticed small, white chips of paint on the floor. Her eyes trailed up, noticing the window lock out of place.

"The window's unlocked." She realized. "That's an easy way for him to get in and undetected. It looks like nobody was even in here to notice. The top bunks made."

"I think he slept on the bottom. It probably made him feel safe at night, like a security blanket." Reid pushed aside the white sheet and grabbed a wooden box with a child's painted depiction of dinosaurs on it. On the top, in a messy almost illegible handwriting, read 'fossils'. Reid opened the box to see several different shaped rocks and a fossil brush inside.

"That explains the fossil on the floor." Alex sighed, thinking originally it was just a rock from outside. "He probably dropped it when he was grabbed. Poor kid." She shook the thought off, mentally smacking myself once again for her overly sympathetic mind.

"You know, it's natural to feel sympathetic. Don't kick yourself for it." Reid quietly spoke up.

"Yeah, but not on this job." She disagreed, walking out into the living room.

" _Yeah_ on this job. It's hard and it takes a lot out of you but it's not meant to take your humanity away. If anything it restores mine. Saving lives is something you don't get to see everyday."

"Well, my first case ended with the unsub blowing his brain out in front of me, which may I add having blood splattered on me was an extra nice touch, and my second we didn't find either woman. Call me crazy but the humanity department feels a little lacking right now." She sadly shrugged. Reid felt stuck and he was unsure of what to say to the frustrated girl. To say the least, he wasn't the best at situations like this.

"I'm sorry your first case went so wrong." Reid looked at her with remorse. Alex ran a hand over her face, feeling bad for making him feel bad.

"No, it's—it's not your fault. I just think I needed to get that off my chest."

"You're more than allowed to. My first case wasn't that rough; regardless it wasn't even on my first day. You had a bumpy catch."

"Welcome to the job I guess." Alex rolled her eyes and sarcastically laughed. If she couldn't handle stuff like this, she knew she couldn't be in the field. But she had to learn to suck it up. Her phone buzzed inside the palm with a message from JJ. Alex's eyes scrolled over the text, her heart dropping farther and farther down into her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked quickly.

"They just found Scott Yamata's body." Alex announced sadly, an eerie feeling overtaking her body. The home she currently stood in belonged to a brutally murdered family, yet Reid and herself were making casual conversation about work where the family should have been currently spending time together. Without another word, the two walked out of the Yamata house.

* * *

Both abducted families had the mothers post information online. And by information, Alex meant literally their daily life story. She was honestly surprised these women even bothered to not post what times they went to the bathroom or fell asleep. All the mother's posts online were bragging about their families, all the achievements they've made, yet none of the bad was written in there. They were portrayed as happy, loving families. After giving the profile, Hotch assigned Reid and Alex to go to the ME. The body of Vanessa Hall, Brenden Acklin's tutor, was found with a bullet straight through her chest. Once again, Alex found herself driving while Reid took occupancy in the passenger seat. This time, the car ride was quiet while her mind buzzed with hundreds of thoughts. Alex had never been to the ME's office, nor had she ever seen a decomposing dead body up close and personal before. To say the least, she wasn't exactly prepared.

"Are you ok?" Reid piped up.

"Huh? Yeah." Alex agreed. "Just hoping we can fine this son of a bitch in time." Her finger tips drummed against the leather steering wheel while she chewed on my bottom lip. She didn't have the guts to tell Reid she'd never seen a dead body before, let alone scared. She would sound like a total loser. What FBI agent was terrified of seeing a dead body?

"You bite your lip when you're nervous." He noticed.

"You profile even when we're out of the office." She retorted.

"Technically it's just a habit that stays with us once we've been doing it a certain of time. It has to do with the brain—" Alex pulled into a parking spot at the ME's office and stared at Reid. "Yes. I do." He finally summarized. The two of them unbuckled their seat belts.

"Alright, let's go get that big brain of yours profiling the dead body." Alex yanked the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car. Reid took lead, walking through the narrow corridor and into the back where the ME was waiting for them. She stood in a pair of baggy coral scrubs and a white lab coat. The bags under her eyes screamed she was more than ready to go home. Alex couldn't blame her, how could someone bare to work around bodies all day? The dimly lit examination room smelled of chemicals—rubbing alcohol more than anything. It tickled Alex's nose. There were two stainless steel tables towards the center of the room: one, empty while the other contained Vanessa Hall's body underneath a white sheet. Bright lights hovered over the tables to examine the bodies with. Whether it was the eeriness or the frigid temperature in the room that sent shivers down Alex's spine, she'd never know. Her best bet was on both.

"Dr. Spencer Reid and Agent Kennedy. Thank you for letting us come in." Reid firmly grasped the older woman's hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you two. Sandra." She reciprocated the handshake. Sandra began walking over to the body table. Alex's brain was screaming at her legs to not move, but she couldn't do anything but follow in Reid's footsteps as they hovered over the body. After throwing a pair of gloves on, Sandra grasped the white sheet draped over Vanessa and pulled it back, revealing a ghostly pale blonde with her chest stapled up. Alex's heart thumped hard as rolls of nausea flew up into her throat. She did her best attempt to push down the feeling poking at her gut. Her ears were ringing with the sound of blood pulsating. Alex discreetly dug her nails into her palms to calm herself down. It was something she did whenever she was overwhelmingly anxious. And god knew this was one of those times.

Vanessa's facial features were soft, almost as if she was asleep. It was hard for Alex to think that she was dead. There was no blood, no nothing. Vanessa looked so natural. It didn't seem right. Alex was more than relieved when she couldn't smell anything. The overwhelming stench of rubbing alcohol was dominant over the smell of the body—if it had any.

"Cause of death was a 9 millimeter gunshot to the chest." Sandra stated. Alex's eyes hovered to the staples tacked to Vanessa's milky skin. They were the only things keeping her raw scarred chest closed.

"That seems to be our unsubs weapon of choice." Reid commented, taking a quick glance at Alex. She mumbled a quick 'mhm' through her lips, which she began chewing on once more.

"This was less than 24 hours ago. It looks like she was bound at the wrist and ankles pre mortem." Reid intently looked at the body and Alex couldn't help but wonder how he did it. Would she ever be like that? Would it ever get that easy? She finally got the courage to look at the fresh bruises along Vanessa's wrists. The poor girl must have been terrified.

"Did he torture her?" Alex finally piped up.

"No clear sign. But, she has bruising and torn hair follicles from fighting her assailant. There's also modal semen present. It's highly possible she was raped before she was killed. We sent a sample to the lab. It's a shame. She wasn't much younger than you two." Alex's face paled considerably. Another pang of nausea hit her like a truck while anxiety washed over her body.

"I'll be outside." She quickly muttered to Reid before taking herself out of the room. She felt like the walls were closing in as she walked through the narrow hallways. She was positive her legs would give out, and she couldn't even scream for help. Her throat was so tight she could barely breathe. Though the blood was furiously pounding through her veins, she felt like they were freezing over—like her body would just all together stop. Her vision tunneled, her only goal was to get to the front door. Alex was quickly regretting wearing this long sleeved turtleneck and over the knee suede boots. They were suffocating her and she wanted nothing more than to rip them off right then and there. She tumbled outside, a wall of cool air hitting her. She gasped for a breath, her lungs inhaling the sweetness of the oxygen. Her hands shook and her breathing labored. She slid down and sat on the curb of the sidewalk, squeezing her eyes shut and wishing the vision of Vanessa Hall's ghostly body would disappear from her mind.

"Get it together Alex." She whispered. But for once in my life, I couldn't. I ran my hands over my face, wishing for this to end. Every sense in her body was heightened. She could hear every single noise within a half a mile. Every gust of wind that breezed against her skin made her jump. Reid finally stepped outside, seeing the girl sitting on the sidewalk. He frowned.

"You okay?" Reid's voice caused Alex to flinch. Her teeth gritted together, for once she wished he'd go away.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, the shakiness in my voice was evident.

"I don't think I have to be a profiler to know that's not true." Reid shyly insisted after a moment of silence. The young doctor took a seat next to Alex, lacing his fingers together on his knees. He'd been in her place before, and he knew how hard it was to cope. "Please don't tell Hotch." She whispered, the lump in her throat preventing her from speaking normally.

"Why would I do that?" Reid cocked his head. He thought about the time he confided in Morgan about his nightmares, and then Morgan went around to tell Hotch and Gideon. It was out of good intentions, though Reid had been mortified at first. Alex shook her head, not knowing the proper answer.

"I'm already three weeks in and I've made mistakes. I don't know what's going on with me." She placed her head into her shaking hands. Reid's eyes glazed over Alex's crumpled body.

"You're having a panic attack." He simply stated. Alex looked at Reid. She knew he was smart, but it took experience to understand what a panic attack looked like. The first time she saw her dad have one, she thought he was going crazy.

"I can't have Hotch know that this happened the first time I saw a dead body."

"This was your first time seeing a body?" Reid looked unmistakably surprised. Alex nodded. "I-I figured you've seen one before."

"Apparently it's a hell of a lot different in pictures."

"It's intimidating." Reid admitted, his mind thinking back to when he first started out at the BAU. At 22, he was supposed to be finishing up college and hanging out with friends. Not examining dead bodies and catching killers.

"The whole damn job is." Alex sighed. She hated to admit it. She truly thought she could handle it, but clearly she was wrong. Maybe she just wasn't cut out for this life. Maybe the dreaded thought of an office job was just all she could handle.

"It gets better." Reid immediately insisted. Alex's brows tightened together in confusion.

"How would you know?" She asked.

"Seeing the bodies…the nightmares that come along with it." Alex was taken aback. Alex had always been a fairly rocky sleeper. Her mind was always active, her thoughts running marathons at all hours of the night. But the nightmares she had four and six nights ago had been something else she'd never experienced. She shrugged the first one off as being the wine she had before bed. The next she just wanted to think she had a lot on her mind. But, in reality, there was no real excuses. Every night the dreams she had, even the good ones, had become darker.

"You have the nightmares too?" Reid nodded much to Alex's relief.

"I used to all the time. We all did. Morgan's started six months after he came to the BAU. Mine started in a few weeks." Somehow, Reid felt comfortable opening up to the girl. He didn't feel judged for once in his life. It was a sore subject to talk about. The nightmares plagued him for months, and continued to occasionally.

"How do you get rid of them?"

"You don't." Reid shrugged. "They subside. I still get mine ever so often." The two fell into a silence as Alex soaked in Reid's words. It was comforting knowing Reid had been in the same place as her when he first started. He could tell the girl became more comfortable in knowing that.

"So, the great Doctor Reid freaked out seeing his first dead body?" Alex lightly laughed, breaking the quick silence.

"Even doctors get spooked." Reid agreed.

"Hard to believe you don't think I'm a freak right now."

"I-I have panic attacks too." Admitting to that seemed easy for Reid on the outside, though it took a lot for him to open up about it. Especially to a girl he just met. He knew by Alex's facial expression that she was surprised to hear it. "I don't tell many people that. If any, really. So no, I don't think you're a freak. I think you're a human being." Alex's lips finally stopped trembling and turned up into a smile. Reid smiled back, which caught Alex off guard. It was the first time she'd seen him fully smile. His teeth were straight and a perfect shiny white.

"What?" He wondered, catching Alex's gaze.

"I don't think I've ever really seen you smile." She noticed.

"Well, I'm not Hotch." He joked.

"No, but it's nice." She smiled. Clearly off guard, Reid was taken aback and stuttered to find words as his cheeks burned red. He met everywhere but Alex's gaze. Finally, Reid stood up, offering Alex a hand. And once again, the pair was off.


	3. Realization

The next stop happened to be the Yamata house once again, direct orders from Hotch. Walking around the house looking for anything out of the ordinary, Alex toyed with my rubber gloves while Reid examined the living room.

"Wouldn't you usually keep an internet router in an office? Not really a place for it on the floor." She mused.

"Not when you're John Yamata and camping out here." Reid retorted, examining the set of sheets tucked under one of the couch cushions. He bent down and picked up a piece of paper beside the dirty, brown slippers on the floor. "Look at this. It's point spreads for NFL games. John was gambling away the family money."

"Sounds like a keeper". Alex scoffed. Suddenly, her phone started ringing from the waistband of her skirt. She picked it up quickly, hoping it was Hotch with good news.

"Kennedy." She answered. It was three weeks from when she started the job and she _still_ couldn't get over how official she sounded.

"It's Morgan. We're at the Acklin house and it looks like the parents weren't sleeping with each other." He informed. Alex loosened up, knowing Morgan wasn't as strict as Hotch.

"Yeah, it's the same here. The parents are sleeping in different beds...if you want to call the couch a bed, really."

"Do you know if the house was remodeled?" He asked.

"Do you know if the house was remodeled?" Alex reiterated to Reid.

"It's a two door bible house which means it was built in the 1940's but I see hardware fixtures from the 1980's and the way your heels sound on the wood makes me think that it's a specific floor laminate that was used in the 70's. And, there's some hardware and window moldings from the 2000's."

"I'm gonna' take that as a yes." She restated to Morgan in the simplest of terms.

"Do me a favor and check inside the high-hats, in the light fixtures. See if there' anything in there." He ordered. Alex's eyes drifted up.

"Uh, okay. Give me a sec." She took the phone away from my ear before looking around the room for a second. She climbed up on one of the chair cushions, her boots causing her to wobble. "Spencer, help me for a second." She ordered, not realizing her slip of the name at first. But once she did, boy was she happy Reid wasn't face to face with her. Reid came over and Alex quickly handed him the phone. She turned around and cringed once she realized her mistake for the second time today. She was a complete and utter idiot.

"Hold on Morgan." He said.

"Spencer? You two are on a first name basis now?" Morgan giddily asked. "My boy! Did you make a move? What's going on there? You think she's pretty!" Reid thanked his lucky stars all Alex could hear was jumbled words.

"No, not at all! Just, no. I never said that." Reid replied. Alex quickly wondered what Morgan had asked. She used Reid's hand to steady herself on the arm of the chair. Reid did his best to avoid the skirt flowing in his face as he awkwardly fixed his eyes across the room. He stayed in his spot to help Alex balance herself. The last thing he needed was her falling flat on her face.

Alex carefully reached up into the lighting fixture and worked her fingers around the hot bulb and into the metal surrounding it. The tips of her fingers hit something. _Bingo_. She pulled it and there it was: a small camera connected with a wire. Reid's eyes widened.

"Damn." She whispered. She continued to use Reid's arm for another moment as she hopped down from the chair.

"Yeah, we've got a camera." Reid stated, hanging up after Morgan thanked him.

"He's been watching them." She realized somberly, looking into the eye of the camera.

* * *

The second Reid and Alex arrived back to the station, they were ushered off into the SUV again along with Rossi and Morgan. The unsub was Arthur Rykov, one of the men who found Scott Yamato's body at the constriction site. Garcia had sent them an address and they had sped off to Rykov's house, meeting Hotch and JJ there along with an array of other officers. Alex had her gun ready, her flashlight stationed right underneath. She was prepared as she crept through the night. Her vest felt snug against her chest. She breathed in and out, thinking that this outcome would be different. This would turn out okay. The team busted into the house through the side door, JJ and Hotch separating from them immediately. Alex entered the kitchen, her finger hovering over the trigger in case of Rykov's appearance.

"Clear!" She yelled.

"FBI, show me your hands!" Hotch yelled in a room not too far by. Morgan rushed in front of Alex, kicking open the locked basement door just as a gunshot went off.

"FBI!" He yelled. Alex's eyes laid on the father and daughter, who were kneeling on the ground beside the mother who was crying her eyes out. She hadn't seen blood, so she wasn't aware of how bad the situation was yet

"Find the kid." Rossi ordered. Alex quickly scanned the room, noticing Braden wasn't present. Without hesitation, she ran back out into the kitchen and began searching the house, her gun still ready by her side. She entered the living room, seeing Braden sitting on the couch staring at a bunch of figurines lined up on the coffee table. He looked up to her, confusion in his big brown eyes.

"Hey." Alex crouched beside the child as she slid her gun back into its holster. "I'm Agent Alex Kennedy with the FBI. You're okay now." She took his hand for comfort. He flinched but became still once more. Garcia had informed the team of Braden being Autistic, so Alex attempted to comfort him in the calmest way possible. "You're okay." She insisted once more.

"Where's my family?" His eyes wandered around the room.

"They're okay. They're with other agents. Let's get you out of here, okay?" She urged. Braden nodded, grabbing a figurine before taking her hand. As the two were about to walk out the front door, Braden stopped.

"What about Darren?" He wondered.

"What?" Alex stopped in her tracks. Darren?

"Mackenzie's boyfriend. The man let him take a nap in the bedroom." Braden elaborated. Alex's eyes widened but she managed to keep calm on the outside.

"Which bedroom, Braden?"

"Over here." Braden led Alex by the hand. The bedroom door was closed. "This one".

"Braden, can you stay right here for me? I'm just going to make sure Darren's still sleeping." She instructed. Braden simply nodded and leaned against the wall beside the door hinges. Alex turned the knob on the door before seeing a young teen boy passed out, badly bruised and beaten on the floor. Quickly and without doing anything to scare Braden, Alex closed the door and pressed the talk button on her earpiece wire that was connected to hearing all the other agents.

"Guys, the boyfriend's here. We need a medic to the bedroom."

"Copy." JJ was the first that replied. Alex's attention was faced to Braden once again.

"Why don't we go see your parents, okay kiddo?" She suggested. Braden nodded eagerly before he took her hand once more and trotted out the front door and into a see of red and blue flashing lights.

* * *

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Rykov was taken to the station in police custody, while the Acklin family was deemed physically safe. The gun the mother had shot herself with was only loaded with blanks and thankfully, there was no physical harm. Nearby, Alex leaned on one of the SUV's while officers spoke with Hotch and JJ. Medics were taking the daughters boyfriend, who had been beaten unconscious by the unsub, to the hospital to heal. He'd have a long recovery, but he was supposed to be okay. As far as the Acklin family, they all stood huddled together beside the ambulance they were being checked out in. They hugged each other, crying tears of joy. Alex could over hear how they'd never leave each other ever again. She could also overhear the uses of _'I love you'_ over and over. It warmed her heart.

"Are you starting to see?" Morgan came up beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"Why the jobs worth it?" He smiled while Alex happened to not. She refused to look away from the heartfelt scene in front of me to meet Morgan's gaze.

"Reid told you?" She frowned, shifting uncomfortably. _Damn it_ , she had trusted Reid to keep quiet. How many other people did he tell?

"Don't you mean Spencer?" He smirked. She frowned even more. He heard her slip up while he was on the phone.

"Don't start with me Derek." She warned.

"I went through the same thing when I first joined. I had nightmares for months. But this, this is why the jobs worth it. This scene right here of a happy family being reunited takes away all that pain and sorrow we feel before." Though Alex didn't dare meet Morgan's gaze, she didn't need to see the truth in his eyes. She could hear it in his voice. She also knew now why Reid had confided in Morgan about the situation.

"It is." She admitted. "All those feelings from earlier, they feel inferior compared to this."

"It's the best part of the job." She nodded in agreement with Morgan, continuing to watch the scene from afar.

"I know." She agreed. Maybe, she'd be cut out for this line of work after all.

* * *

As the jet sailed through the night sky, Spencer Reid was one of two agents still awake. The team hadn't bother waiting until morning to leave back for Quantico. After Rykov was booked and paperwork had been filed, they were off, much to everyone's excitement. They couldn't wait to be back in their own beds.

A book plastered in his hand, Reid sat on one of the leather chairs across from the couch, which was occupied by a sleeping Agent Kennedy—or Alex. He wasn't sure as to what to call her. Not even in his own thoughts. He called JJ well, _JJ_ , so why couldn't he call Agent Kennedy Alex? And why was he so god forsaken intimated? For a genius who knew the answers to almost all questions, he couldn't answer this simple one for himself.

Alex was curled up on the couch, sleeping peacefully as the jet lulled her into a deeper slumber. Reid noted how peaceful she looked, unlike earlier as to where her panic attack drained her of all her colors and soft features. He felt bad for the new agent. Genuinely bad. He knew what is was like to have attacks. It was a demon that haunted both of them. Though, it was nice to know he wasn't alone.

Reid's mind flashed back to the two times Alex had called him by his first name. _Spencer_ , he remembered. He liked the way it rolled off her tongue, of his name coming off her lips. It felt natural and well, it just seemed incredibly right. He wasn't sure as to why, but he was one hundred and ten percent (although not possible) sure he liked it. He had grown fond of Alex over the past month, and he wanted to be there for her. But he wasn't sure as to how.

He had tried to earlier when Alex underwent her panic attack, though he wasn't sure he did a great job. He wished desperately he was better at talking to girls. Relating was probably the better word.

When Reid was going through his nightmares a few years ago, Morgan and Gideon were the ones to comfort him and make him feel sane again. So, Reid confided in his older-brother-like fellow agent about Alex. Morgan pushed Reid to be the one to talk to the girl, but somehow Reid insisted Morgan do it. At the crime scene, he saw the two talking with seriousness plastered among both their features. Alex didn't seem to have been mad at Reid afterwards, but what did he know? When it came to girls, Reid knew zip. It was a subject he failed in miserably.

"You're staring." Rossi informed,quietly. The older agent walked over to Reid with a glass of whiskey in hand. Reid hadn't noticed his eyes trail up from his book and stayed on a sleeping Alex. He must have looked like a complete creep. Immediately, Reid's eyes darted around to make sure no one else heard Rossi's statement. "Relax, kid. They're asleep." Reid sighed, thankful he hadn't been caught red handed by anyone other than Rossi. "What's eating at you?"

"I'm hoping she doesn't hate me for talking to Morgan about, uh, about—"

"Panic attacks?" Reid nodded. Of course Rossi already knew. Morgan couldn't keep his mouth shut for five minutes. "My lips are sealed." Rossi smirked.

"Thank you." Reid was relieved. If Alex knew that more people knew, she'd probably punch him in the face.

"She's not mad. And she definitely doesn't hate you."

"How do you know?"

"Kid, take it from me. I've got experience older than you." Rossi quietly laughed. Reid smiled.

"You probably should get some sleep. We still have another hour and forty three minutes left." He informed.

"Don't worry about me. I've got a nice podcast and a good drink to keep me occupied. Now you, on the other hand, look like you need some sleep." Reid looked from Rossi to his book. He only had 187 more pages, which he could crank out pretty quick. But Rossi was right, sleep did sound nice. Reid closed the book and placed it beside him. "Finally time you put a book down." Rossi chuckled. "Night, Spencer."

"Night Rossi." Reid ended as Rossi walked back to the other side of the plane. With one last look at Alex, Reid decided to close his eyes for the remainder of the flight.

* * *

 **Hello Reiders :] How is everyone? I hope you all had a lovely Monday. For the love of Hotch's smile, please please please review! I'm barely getting any and it disappoints me and feel like no one likes the story! :[ Elena out! **


	4. Into Thin Air

Alex was just walking into work when chaos had erupted at JJ's desk. Garcia and Rossi stood beside JJ's chair, where JJ was slump over sighing, looking overly exhausted and no doubt frustrated.

"What do you mean he's not going?! Every kid loves trick or treating!" Garcia cried.

"Henry's scared." JJ explained.

"Of trick or treating?" Alex walked up to the three, catching in on the conversation.

"One of his little buddies told him Halloween is the only time when all the real monsters come out because they can blend in." The frustrated blonde rolled her blue eyes.

"Never thought about that. Good monster strategy." Rossi nodded his head in approval. JJ and Alex chuckled, while Garcia pouted.

"You did tell him it wasn't true, right?" Garcia pushed.

"Of course I did. But he's convinced." JJ shrugged, her lips in a tight line.

"Remind him about the candy. God knows that's what got me going." Alex shrugged. Halloween had always been her favorite holiday, tied equally in with Christmas Eve-she believed Christmas Day was a letdown of the hype. There was something about dressing up as somebody you weren't and getting loads of candy from strangers that enticed her, even still to this day.

"Childhood fears are resistant to adult logic. Sometimes you just have to wait it out." Rossi shrugged. Even though he hadn't any kids of his own, he was very aware of child logic.

"For how long?"

"Well if he's 23 and this still worries you, you've got a problem."

"Let's take it one year at a time." Alex told Rossi.

"The thing is, I think I'm partly to blame." JJ admitted shamefully, standing up from her chair. "The other night Will and I were up late, having some wine, talking about some of the cases we've worked on…and at one point I said it felt like there was no end to all the monsters walking around and…"

"Henry sneaked into the room to listen to the grownups."

"Oh, JJ." Alex cried. The poor kid was no doubt traumatized. "When I was a kid—"

"Which you still are." Rossi interrupted.

"When I was little," Alex corrected with an eye roll, "I snuck into the kitchen for some ice cream while my dad was on the phone with somebody. He said with all the work he was doing he was turning into a zombie. I don't think you want to know how long I locked myself in my room for." Alex laughed.

"Yeah. We need a cone of silence for our house." Rossi laughed in reply to JJ.

"I think you both do." He added.

"You've got to make him go, JJ. Halloweens the best holiday all year. Looking back on it, he's going to regret not going." Alex frowned, only for Rossi to raise a brow at her. "Hey, just because I'm 26 doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through a child who's allowed to trick or treat without it being frowned upon."

"You surprise me more and more every day, Kennedy." He chuckled.

* * *

Everybody but Hotch sat at the round table talking about how excited they were for the weekend, while JJ complained about what she was going to do with Henry. She'd never had a problem with the beautiful blonde boy before, so she was at a complete standstill.

"Okay, let's get started." Hotch entered and took a seat, a silence over taking the conference room. Garcia grabbed her remote control and turned on the TV screen.

"Those of you who like a good mystery please unleash your inner Agatha Kristie because this one's a real hum-dinger. Garry Elert, Barry Deaver, Paul Hicks, and Terry Rodgers. Over the course month and a half these four men have gotten in their cars in La Grande, Oregon and drove into never to be seen agains-ville. Poof. Gone. The latest victim Terry Rodgers disappeared 24 hours ago."

"Does forensic evidence point us to anything?" JJ wondered.

"Point would imply that there's evidence. There is no evidence. At least not for the first three victims."

"No witnesses, no body or forensics, no ransom demands. Maybe they just voluntarily decided to hit the road" Morgan thought.

"Four sudden disappearances in this small of a community? This isn't about seeking greener pastures." Rossi disagreed.

"He's efficient and well organized, it isn't that easy to make four people vanish and stay that way."

"Let alone men." Alex added.

"It has been done before though. Political kidnappings frequently require holding multiple adults simultaneously." Reid added.

"Or, they're already dead." Rossi clasped his hands together. "They could very well be off in a shallow grave in the middle of no where and not be found."

"Well, let's say for some miraculous optimistic reason, they still are alive. How's the unsub controlling four fit men?" Alex asked. It seemed impossible to her. This guy must have been really strong.

"And for what purpose?" JJ added as well.

"The time between abductions is shortening with each victim. Wheels up in 30." Hotch announced. Alex and the team closed their case files and went off to collect their bags in preparations for the jet.

* * *

The soft humming of the jet's engine lulled Alex into her own world where she was forced with a sea of thoughts. She stared out one of the windows, tapping her fingernails against the edge of her seat. She was suddenly interrupted by Reid standing in front of her. She was taken from her thoughts and her eyes darted up to meet his gaze, and then his hand. His hand was reached out to me, his slender fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee.

"Just cream, no sugar." His statement was firm, there were no hints of a question. For the past month, he had observed her every time she got coffee. Unlike himself, Alex had opted for just cream. She liked her coffee light. In his other hand, Reid clutched another cup for himself. Alex stared at the cup and then back to Reid. He was hoping she'd accept it.

"That's for me?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"Uh, yeah. I figured you could use a cup."

"Wow." Alex took the coffee into her own grasps. "Thanks." She smiled. She loved her team, don't get her wrong, but no one had done such a nice gesture like that.

"Caffeine helps you concentrate and well, we've, um, we've got a lot of concentration to do in the next few hours." Reid ran a hand threw his hair, stumbling over his words. On the other side of the plane, Morgan cringed at his fellow agents awkwardness and pushed himself up from the seat quad.

"What are you two kids doing?" Morgan asked, sitting on the couch arm beside Alex. He prayed his interruption would save Reid from any kind of embarrassment he was about to cause himself. Last week, Morgan had urged the kid to befriend the girl. Though Reid denied it several times to both Garcia and him, Morgan still knew pretty boy was interested in the new agent. Reid was smart, but he wasn't girl smart. That was Morgan's job.

"Nothing, Reid just got me some coffee." Alex casually informed before leaning over and grabbing a book out of her go-bag.

"Ah, that's pretty nice of you kid." Morgan nodded in approval, discreetly winking. Reid looked away, pretending he didn't see Morgan's gesture.

"Yeah, thanks again Reid." Alex flashed another smile. She sat herself back up, placing the book in her lap.

"You read Hemmingway?" Reid instantly asked, his eyes gazing in wonder.

"Yeah, he's one of my favorites." Alex replied.

"Who else do you like?"

"Oh god, uh," She paused, "Kerouac, Fitzgerald, Faulkner…I've got a guilty pleasure for Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe. There's something about the darkness and mystery that's overwhelmingly compelling." She laughed it off, hoping she didn't sound too weird.

"Don't you think we get enough of that in the field?" Morgan scoffed.

"There's just something about it." I shrugged.

"I completely agree." Reid interjected. "It's-it's like learning about someone's lifetime and living another life. And that's only one per book. It's like an addiction." Reid mused. The look in his eyes reminded Alex of that of a kid in a candy store.

"I never thought of it like that."

"Watch out Kennedy, he's sucking you into his book world." Morgan shook his head. Of course Morgan enjoyed a good book once and a while, but nothing beat his TV shows.

"You're just jealous you can't relate." Alex quipped, taking a sip of my coffee. She noted how well Reid had concocted it. Not a lot of people noticed how light she like her coffee.

"You callin' me stupid, Kennedy?" Morgan laughed in disbelief.

"Do I have to come over there and break you two up?" Rossi called, eyeing the three.

"I'm joking." She called, but then looked back at Morgan. "Or am I?"

"I'm watching you." Morgan jokingly threatened.

"I'm counting on it, _Dreamy D_." Alex enunciated the name Garcia had called him earlier through their video transmission while going over the case file. Morgan's jaw dropped, surprised with Alex's sass.

"Okay, okay. It's on." He announced. Alex winked and flipped open her book.

* * *

Alex, Hotch, and Morgan all currently stood in front of a map attached to a glass board. Alex took a step back after pasting a sticky mark on route 17 to mark where one of the locations the victims had previously visited before the abduction.

"Tread marks were inconclusive. Probably from a pick up truck though." The towns Sherriff informed as she walked in. "What's that?"

"Routes our victims probably took on the day they disappeared."

"Gary Ellerd stopped at the DMV and was a no show for his class at Eastern University. Barry Deaver went to the gas station and never made it to his karate class. Paul Hicks: home, daughters school, doctors' appointment, was supposed to meet a client over here but never showed." Morgan pointed to each location on the map.

"And all of that tells you what?" The Sherriff asked.

"It's more of what it doesn't tell us. None of the lines intersect." Hotch stated. Rossi, finally done with an interview of his own, finally joined the group.

"I just had a chat with Terry Rodgers personal trainer. She said he never talked about his private life."

"And this is the guy who's living Ted Kaczynski's cabin dream life?" Alex shockingly thought. She didn't know how absolutely anybody could live without plumbing.

"She said he was dedicated, not in great shape, but dedicated."

"No running water, yet he liked to get sweaty and dedicated to working out. I'll never understand men." Alex rolled her eyes. The team and Sherriff fell into a silence as they continued to examine the board and locations. Alex sat down at the table and opened up the case file once more, making sure she didn't miss anything. Morgan grabbed his phone from the wooden table and quickly dialed up Garcia in hopes she found anything suspicious on the latest victim.

"Hey, you're talking to the room PG." He said, putting Garcia on speaker.

"And if by PG you mean parental guidance strongly advised I say PA: Prudent Advice." Garcia replied, causing Alex to choke while sipping on her coffee. Hotch and the Sherriff looked over to her with brows raised.

"Sorry." She stifled a laugh, wiping off the coffee on her lips with the back of her hand.

"I checked all of the employees, vendors, and delivery people who work at the supermarket Terry Rodgers bought his groceries from and there were not red flags. Also Barry Deaver, the second victim, I found his car!" She exclaimed.

"Where?" Hotch harshly asked.

"Impounded! It was abandoned three weeks ago on Fish Hatchery Road picked up by Gus's towing service where it's been collecting dust and racking up storage fees ever since."

"Where's Fish Hatchery Road?" Hotch asked Morgan, who immediately pointed to the bottom left of the map.

"That's off the beaten track like Terry Rodgers. Looks like the unsub's hunting grounds are rural and remote."

"To have ended up there Deaver must have gone on a diagonal north of first. Then headed west towards his karate class."

"Isn't that a little out of the way?" Alex asked.

"Not necessarily, there's less lights that way." The Sherriff stated.

After hanging up on Garcia, Hotch took a seat next to Alex and they began going over Terry Rodgers grocery list that was given to them by one of the officers. Rossi headed over to the coffee machine to refill his emptying cup.

"Top me off please!" Alex rang, beaming at Rossi as she handed him his cup.

"Learn anything?" He called. Alex took her head out of the file, seeing JJ and Reid enter the room.

"Yeah, Spence here doesn't like the beach." JJ announced. _Spence_ , the name rang in Alex's ears. What a cute nickname.

"I don't." He quickly dismissed. "Terry Rodgers definitely wanted to live off the grid. He had a small generator for minimal electrical needs. No phone, no TV's, no radio…" Reid trailed off.

"And lots of material on the evils of technology, living healthy off the land, that sort of thing."

"Sounds like the UNABOMBER." Rossi thought. Alex nodded with a stifled smile. She was the one to call that originally. "Good call, Kennedy."

"Hope he's not as crazy." Alex added. Terry Rodgers didn't seem like the one to go blow up airports and college campus'. He was the victim here after all.

"We did find a small stash of marijuana hidden away." Reid added.

"Any evidence that a baby lived or visited there?" Hotch asked.

"No, why?" JJ's brows creased in confusion. Hotch handed the paper to JJ and she quickly overlooked it.

"Four jars of baby food?" She questioned, wondering why a grown man needed baby food.

"A body matching Rodgers description was found in a river 10 miles outside of town." The Sherriff somberly stated as she entered the room. Without hesitation, they all stood up and walked out to the SUV.

* * *

The team reached the bridge where a crew of CSI agents were wading through shallow water. Other agents were on the bridge, investigating the scene and waiting for Terry Rodger's body to be lifted up. Hotch and Morgan got out of the car and bee lined for the lead CSI agent. Alex hopped out of the back seat with Reid and Rossi beside her and started for where the others were about to be placing the body.

"Hey, Kennedy?" Reid called. Alex turned around. "Are you…will that...will you be okay?" Alex nodded her head and reached her hand forward, brushing her fingers against Reid's forearm.

"Yeah, thanks." She nodded once more before walking off to the body that was being placed on the pavement by the machine. Alex held her breath while walking over to the dirty body. She continuously assured herself this would be fine. The memory of a happy family being reunited after being saved by the team crossed her mind. She did this job so the others taken by the unsub could have that same reunion. Alex did her best to swallow all her fear and stepped up beside Hotch.

"There's no signs of violence or torture." Morgan noted. Alex immediately thanked God it wasn't a messy kill. She wasn't ready to see that. Getting through this was step one.

"A lot of care was taken with the disposing of the body." Rossi believed.

"Sedation and drowning."

"Drowning?" Alex questioned. She had thought the unsub had just dumped the body here after the killing. Rossi nodded.

"We may have to dramatically reassess who the unsub is." Rossi directed the statement at Hotch.

"We might be looking for a woman." He announced. Alex was taken aback. Another woman unsub? Just two weeks ago there were two. But this, this was surprising her in the fact a woman overpowered four men successfully, whether they were drugged or not, and was still holding three captive.

* * *

The team stood in front of a group of officers giving the profile. Per usual, Hotch spoke first.

"We believe the unsub we're looking for is a woman. She's highly organized, thorough, and patient."

"Based on the complexity and sophistication of the abduction, we most likely think she is between the ages of 30 and 40." Reid added in suit.

"She's familiar with the rural area surrounding the land. Look for someone who's lived there for a while. We think she's keeping her victims in isolation in the country side, which means she has access to land or a structure that's remote, hidden, and private. She's abducting exceptionally health conscious men, ideal specimens."

"Specimens? For what" The Sherriff questioned reluctantly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know what that really meant.

"Possible breeding." JJ elaborated.

"The ability to father children is something she's looking for in her victims. They're all age appropriate and they are all fathers." Hotch continued.

"Why would she kill the last victim?" The Sherriff asked.

"She may have seen him as being the most flawed. He was the least fit of the four and he refused to pay child support, making him undesirable." Reid said.

"The victims may be surrogates for a man she wants, but can not have. Since she killed the last victim we must assume she's doing an elimination process until she has her ideal man."

* * *

"Based on what we just got, this is the best guess on the victim's revises routes." Hotch stood in front of a map plastered to one of the boards, JJ by his side.

"What did we just get?" Alex stepped beside them, praying she didn't miss something big while she was overviewing with Morgan over the latest news on Terry Rodgers.

"Garcia found the missing cars." JJ informed, pressing two new sticky-notes onto the map.

"They intersect here, and the other two here." The blonde noted, her finger tracing routes along the map.

"What's at the intersection Deaver and Ellard crossed?" Alex asked, her eyes gazing over the overlapping routes.

"A shopping center with a dozen or so businesses, were getting a list now."

"One of our deputies just spotted an abandoned car on the other side of town. There was a second set of tires that matched those found at the Rodgers abduction site." The Sherriff alerted anxiously as she entered the room.

"Kennedy you stay here and wait for the list of businesses. JJ and I will go." Hotch announced. Immediately, JJ picked up her things and followed Hotch out of the room. Alex sighed. It was more than obvious Hotch didn't one hundred percent trust her on the team yet. She felt like she stayed in the station more than was out on the field. God, she was the water boy of the BAU.

* * *

The thirty minutes that crept by consisted of Alex pacing, sipping on her luke-warm coffee, and spinning around her wheeled chair. There had been no word from Hotch nor JJ yet, and the list of businesses Garcia was faxing over still wasn't here. Alex was anxious, her need to be in control of everything and know what was going on at all times wasn't the best trait to have, especially in a job like this. She knew calling Hotch for an update was out of the question, he'd get beyond frustrated with her nagging.

"Come on." Alex groaned, twirling once more in her chair while staring at her phone. Rossi entered the room, oppressing his laugh as he saw the frustrated young agent.

"Try the magic word." He insisted. Alex planted her feet against the carpeted ground, stopping the chair immediately. Her iPhone skidded out of her hands and into her lap, her cheeks dared to blaze red.

"You look like you saw a ghost, kid. I'm not that old." Rossi heftily laughed, sitting down in a chair across the table.

"No, just forever catching me at my worst moments." She sighed, placing her phone onto the table.

"Haven't heard from Hotch?" Rossi asked, crossing his legs over one another and leaning back in the cushioned chair.

"No." Alex replied, noticeably frustrated.

"Aggravated you haven't heard anything?" Rossi questioned once more. Alex blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"Maybe."

"I know the feeling. You've got to know what's going on just in case there's a breaking moment in the case."

"We're here to profile this crazy lady, not me." Alex retorted.

"What can I say, it's a habit." Rossi smugly smiled.

"What's a habit?" Reid walked in with his usual coffee in hand.

"All of you profiling the people who don't need to be profiled." Alex rang.

"Habit of the mind. I'm sure you'll be doing it within a given time." Reid shrugged. Saving her from the conversation, Alex's phone buzzed against the table. She snatched it and answered the call, pressing the cold device to her ear.

"Hey, any news?" Alex eagerly asked, knowing it was JJ on the other line.

"Yeah," She sighed. "We found baby shower gifts in the victim's car."

"She kidnapped a woman?" Alex's jaw slacked.

"Yup." JJ popped the 'p'.

"And she's pregnant?"

"Due in three weeks."

"Jesus." Alex ran a hand through her hair. What kind of sick woman would kidnap another woman who was busting-at-the-seems pregnant?

"And that's not the worst part." JJ regretfully announced.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"We just got a call from Grande Ronde Hospital. A woman and a just born baby were left in a parking lot."

"But if she's due in three weeks…" Alex's voice trailed off, know where the conversation was heading.

"The unsub gave her a C-Section with a knife." There was sadness and frustration laced within JJ's voice. Alex cursed under her breath and pressed a palm to her forehead, feeling the headache that was about to grow. This insane woman was going to give her an aneurism.

"Are they going to be okay?" She asked.

"Hotch and I are on the way over now. I'll call when I know anything."

"Thanks JJ." After Alex ended the call, she met two sets of eyes staring at her waiting for information. She closed her eyes and shook her head with a sigh.

"I need more coffee." She slapped her palms onto the table and pushed herself up. Before she could think about any more of this, the coffee machine was the only one she would talk to first.

* * *

Reid, Rossi, and Alex sat around the table sipping coffee. That was, until Rossi received a phone call which he immediately got invested into.

"Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a long night?" Alex sighed, propping her chin up on her palm.

"Probably because we have no clue who the unsub is and at this rate, it's getting harder and harder to find her." Reid negatively commented. Alex wanted to note how her question was rhetorical, but she didn't have the strength. All her thoughts were bee lined at this case, and how crazy the unsub was. She was a different kind of crazy, different than any of the other unsubs she'd seen since she joined the BAU. Her killings were all over the place. She killed the drugged men and kept the woman—and her freshly born baby—alive. What was her deal?

"That was Hotch." Rossi hung up the phone and placed it on the table with a quiet _click_.

"How are they?" Alex immediately asked. It was probably a stupid question, the mother just had a C-section preformed by a serial killer with a knife. There was no way she was _good_ in any way.

"Mom's recovering fine. Baby will be okay." Rossi pursed his dry lips, while tapping his fingers on the table.

"Why do you look worried?" She noticed. Both her and Reid looked intently on the older agent, who seemed reluctant to open his mouth.

"The doctor told them the placenta was scraped completely out from the victim's uterus. Every bit." A pang of nausea punched Alex in the gut, making her want to throw up immediately. The idea of the unsub scrapping out the victim's placenta was absurd. She backed up her statement she thought of earlier—this unsub was different than all the others she had worked against before.

"The placenta does carry special significance in many cultures. In Ancient Egypt, it had its own hieroglyph and in the Ebo tribe in Nigeria it was considered the child's dead twin." Reid stated.

"Well that would be helpful…if our unsub was an ancient Egyptian but…" Alex pursed her lips. She was fascinated with Reid's intelligence 99% of the time, but right now was that 1 percent of when she couldn't stand it. Reid began intensely staring down at the wooden table, his lips moving as he spoke inaudibility and his mind focused on something neither her nor Rossi could figure out.

"I can hear the high pitched scream from your IQ all the way over here. What is it?" Rossi finally asked, breaking the silence.

"It can be placentology."

"Placawhat?" Alex repeated, half wondering what the word meant and half wondering how Reid knew that in the back of his mind.

"Consuming it. In the wild, it's common for animals to eat the after birth. It's super rich in nutrients." Alex and Rossi grimaced at Reid's remark.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Rossi held a hand up for Reid to slow down. "So the unsub might have harvested this last victim…for food?" Reid nodded. Both Alex and Rossi paled considerably.

"God I think I'm going be sick." She muttered, the grimace still plastered on her face.

It took about twenty-five minutes until Hotch and JJ came back to the station and sat down at the oval table. Rossi immediately dialed Garcia and placed his phone on the table.

"PG also known as Princess Garcia. Tech Goddess at your service." She answered.

"I think you're going to want to hear this." Hotch told her.

"It's all about the food. The grool, the placenta…she's feeding her victims." Rossi announced.

"Ugh." She groaned. "I could have gone my whole life without knowing people can eat…that stuff."

"Yeah, second that." JJ muttered.

"Third." Alex chimed in, still grossed out.

"And FYI there's no record of anyone in La Grande buying that weird kind of sawdust the ME found. I'll widen the search."

"We still need to figure out how the unsub drugged all these men." JJ added.

"The southeast intersection didn't get us much. Just a Laundromat and a video rental store." Alex stated.

"The other intersection was the supermarket, but none of the employees recognized Paul Hicks. He never went there." Rossi informed.

"Garcia, what day of the week were each of the victims abducted?" Hotch asked.

"Gary Ellard on a Monday, Barry Deaver on a Saturday, Terry Rodgers and Paul Hicks both on a Thursday."

"Is there anything special that happens in the vicinity of the market on Thursdays?"

"Wow, you've done this before haven't you. There's a farmer's market across from the supermarket every Thursday morning."

"Where is it today?"

"Corner of Kensington and Interstate 84." Hotch nodded at Garcia's response and decided to send in Morgan and JJ.

* * *

 **A/N: EEEEP! I'm so excited for the next chapter because there's gonna be a scene out of the BAU! EEEEP!**

 **Also, for those wondering about Maeve, I decided to botch the time line a little bit BUT I NEED YOUR OPINION FIRST. Would you rather Maeve be the season before or just not have maeve exist at all? I still haven't decided. Instead of the maeve episodes this season, you're gonna get a little peak into Alex's past and have her go into a case that reflects a little of her childhood. PLEASE REVIEW XOXO**


	5. All Hallows Eve

Reid had just finished getting the fax of the toxicology report from Terry Rodgers in. To say the least, he was quite disturbed at the findings. He quickly rushed from the fax machine and into the room where Alex was posted up in.

"Can you try looking these people up? They should have a license to vend there." Alex spoke into the phone, non other than Garcia on the receiving end, and tapped her nails against the table.

"Yeah, be back in a jiff!" The tech analyst hung up the phone for Alex, and continued to do her search. Alex placed her iPhone back onto the table a few feet away from her. The brunette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, hoping Garcia didn't take long with the findings. They were already running late and if they didn't hurry up, another body would be found. Reid stared at Alex for a moment, not failing to notice the concern in her big, dark eyes. It was obvious the girl seemed tense, yet looking at her made Reid feel comfortable, almost relaxed. But that was _only_ from far away. When the two were up close and personal, the genius seemed to lose his ability to, well, be a genius. In that included his ability to speak.

"Hey." Alex straightened in her chair, making eye contact with Reid as she noticed his presence. "What's that?" She glared to the pile of papers in his hand.

And just like that, his 180 IQ went down to nothing.

"It's, uh, it's the toxicology report." He stammered.

"Anything interesting?" She wondered. Reid took a few more steps into the room.

"Yeah, after looking at it carefully, the sawdust isn't from actual sawdust. It's from bone. She's using her victims as fertilizer." Alex's brows formed a tight line.

"She's using human beings to grow her plants?" The words didn't sound right coming out of Alex's mouth. Reid nodded. Alex paused and shook the new information off. "Is it crazy I thought this case would just be some crazy guy taking these men and killing them?"

"Not all cases are that simple." Reid stated.

"Clearly." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't think I've ever thought to hear the words human fertilizer come out of your mouth." To be honest, Reid didn't either. Both of them let our frustrated chuckles.

"It's never something you get used to. It's always something new. People have interesting imaginations."

"Crazy." Alex corrected. "Crazy imaginations."

* * *

9 PM came fast and furious, and the team still failed to have any suspects. Frustrated, they sat around the table together pitching ideas. To say the least, they were on the verge of pulling their hair out. Whoever this unsub was, was good at staying under the radar. Alex pitched the idea of a doctor, probably one with a lost medical license, but it was shut down by Hotch since the cuts to the victim's stomach were so messy.

"Sherriff, the surgeon who operated on Cheryl Winslow said that whoever did the C-section might have done one before."

"If she did, we never heard about it. Nothing like this has ever happened in La Grand. Trust me." The Sheriff shook her head.

"We can expand the search rate." Morgan offered.

"What about farms?" JJ pitched. "My grandparents had a farm in Pennsylvania. Once my grandmother had to deliver a calf by C-section due to the cow being in distress." Hotch snatched his ringing phone out of his pocket and answered the call.

"Go ahead, Garcia."

"I've got something! Emma Kerrigan. She runs a small juice and vegetable stand at the farmer's market and she works part time giving out free samples at the health and food co-op. I'm sending you her picture now."

"Sounds like our unsub." JJ noted.

"Where does she live?" Hotch asked.

"Piping Rock Farms west of town."

"So she does have a farm?" Alex asked loudly.

"Yeah, it's like 100 acres and belongs to her husband's family."

"She's got a husband?" Alex laughed in disbelief.

"Well, she did. He died in a car accident a year and a half ago leaving her and her ten-year-old daughter Lexy." Hotch looked to the team.

"Let's go."

* * *

The team gathered at the SUV's, quickly putting on their vests and saddling up their guns into their holsters. Hotch, Morgan, and JJ piled into one SUV while Reid, Alex, and Rossi piled into the other. The team sped off to the farm, the Sherriff following their tail.

"Morgan says they've got the house. We take the back and look for victims." Alex announced, her phone illuminating her face in the darkness.

"If any are still alive." Rossi responded.

"Let's aim for an ounce of hope here." She muttered. All three cars pulled up to the farm and the team went their separate ways. Morgan forced open the door to the house while Rossi, Reid, and Alex went around back. The three quietly stalked towards the back barn. The back door was wide open, sending an unpleasant scent up Alex's nostrils. She pointed her flashlight towards an area with equipment. Ropes, plastic tubes, and duct tape lined shelves. Underneath it on the ground, was a machine covered up with a plastic tarp.

"Rossi." She whispered, motioning her head at the tarp. After looking at it for a split second, Rossi yanked the tarp off, revealing a small wood chipper. Alex and Reid aimed their flashlights at the inside of the machine to see it caked in both fresh and old blood. The three team member's eyes bulged at the sight, waves of nausea being sent through their stomachs. Alex now knew what the unpleasant scent cursing her nose was. Turning away from the scene, Alex leveled her gun and flashlight and crept in through the barns back door. The beam of her flashlight darted around, hoping to show the unsub.

"Clear." Alex announced, though she still refused to put her gun away. Rossi and Reid followed in Alex's footsteps, also shining their flashlights around. Each stall was laden with blood, metal chains, ropes, and clear plastic tubes. None of the stalls included any of the victims. Not one bit of them. Alex's eyes darted around in hope they'd find even a body, but they were too late.

"Did she…" Alex's words faded off as she realized as to why there was no bodies lying around. The unsub had put their bodies in it and ground them up. Her eyes darted towards the door where the bloody wood chipper was. "Oh God." She cringed.

* * *

After finishing paperwork and a night's rest, the team was set off on the jet and reached Quantico that late afternoon just in time for Halloween. By five, the office was clearing out besides the team, who was filing away paper work to just finish on Monday. It was Friday and Halloween, tonight they weren't going to fret over something they could do next week.

"Any exciting Halloween plans tonight?" Reid asked from his desk right across from Alex's. Little did Alex know, Halloween was _also_ his favorite holiday. And the fact that he had no plans for the fourth year in a row disappointed him. He was eager to go trick or treating with Henry, but since he decided not to do Halloween this year, that was out of the question.

"If you consider passing out candy to the kids in my building, things are about to get wild." Alex sarcastically rose her brows suggestively. Reid chuckled in response. "What about you?"

"Me? No. Probably re-reading The Shining and Frankenstein." She noticed the disappointment in his voice.

"Only two books tonight? You're slacking, Reid."

"Well, I'm thinking about watching the Halloween Series."

"I didn't peg you as a movie guy. Especially horror movies." Alex thought.

"Horror movies are great. They're funny." Reid grinned.

"Funny?" Alex repeated. "We've got a very different definition of funny, Reid. I don't call cowering in my seats about to have a heart attack funny."

"They're unrealistic, yet still ridiculously successful."

"And I'm sure you know why." Alex smirked.

"Well, yeah! It's because—" Reid's explanation was quickly cut off by JJ entering the office looking excited.

"Excuse me, everybody! I have an announcement to make!" She clasped her hands together in excitement. Morgan and Rossi came down the stairs and stood beside Reid's desk and the team looked onto her. "I'm sure some of you were aware that Henry was a little nervous about going trick or treating this year. But, he's decided to go anyways!" She happily announced. Alex stood up out of her chair.

"Great! What changed his mind?" Rossi wondered.

"The BAU did. I told him that he should go out on Halloween and try to figure out which monsters are real and which ones are not."

"Very good BAU strategy." Alex nodded, looking at Rossi who did the same in return.

"He wants to be a profiler." Morgan smugly realized.

"Ah! He wants to be his favorite profiler." JJ corrected. She turned around, directing our attention to the door. Henry, dressed in khakis, mismatched socks, converses, a messenger bag, cardigan, and tie, strutted in with an also dressed up Garcia holding his hand. Henry was proudly dressed up as his godfather, Doctor Spencer Reid.

"Wow!" Reid cried and shot up from his desk chair. Alex thought she'd melt on the spot. She'd never seen something so cute in her entire life. And from the looks of Morgan and Rossi, neither had they. They all joined in a chorus of laughter and smiled as Reid rushed over to JJ's little blonde boy and kneeled down in front of him.

"You look great, Henry!" Reid exclaimed, taking his badge and clipping it on Henry's cardigan.

"Aw, he's official!" Morgan laughed.

"Yeah!" Reid smiled. Garcia leaned down to Henry's level and whispered in his ear.

"Tell him." She urged.

"E equals MC squared!" Henry bursted out! The team went wild, and if Alex somehow hadn't melted before, she had melted now. She was a puddle.

"Aw there it is!" Morgan howled. Alex laughed, her face hurting from smiling so much.

"Those monsters don't stand one chance." She smiled to JJ. Reid and Henry high fived

"Aw, I know! Should we go get you some candy?" Reid urged Henry to go over to his mother.

"I always vote yet on candy!" Garcia cried.

"You want to come out with us? Henry needs a side kick." JJ laughed, as her and Garcia continued their conversation. Reid stood back up and Morgan patted him on the back.

"Watch your back pretty boy." He winked, eyeing a beaming Alex who couldn't stop staring at Henry. Moments later, she walked over to the doctor, the two of them still smiling.

"You've got yourself a growing fan club, I see." She commented. Still seeing that his mother and godmother were talking, Henry ran over to Reid and hugged his leg. Reid bent down once again to Henry's level.

"Go have fun!" He urged. "Get mommy out of here! Go get candy!" He cried. Henry high fived him once more and ran off, leaving Reid to stand back up.

A smile beamed across Alex's face. She hadn't smiled like this in a long time, in fact, she hadn't remembered the last time she had. It was the kind of smile that hurt your cheeks, but it was so worth it in the end. And, boy, were her cheeks hurting. Yet, she couldn't find herself stopping.

"What?" Reid chuckled, finally catching Alex's state. And just like Henry, Alex found herself facing her fears of rejection and finally stepping out of her comfort zone on this Halloween night.

"Do you want to go get a drink?" She asked with her continuous beaming smile. Reid was caught off guard. Once again, his IQ diminished to a new low. Did she really just ask him out? What was he supposed to say? She didn't even realize what she really did until after it was done. _Why the hell did you do that_ , she thought. She didn't think she liked him enough to ask him out. It was clearly platonic, right?

"Drinks?" He repeated. Immediately, he knew that wasn't the right answer. He knew almost every word in the English language, yet he could barely form a sentence at the moment. "Uh, sure! Yeah! I'd like—I'd love to!"

"Did I just hear drinks?" Morgan called and walked back over to the pair. "I'm down."

"Thought dinner was my treat!" Rossi called and followed Morgan over.

"How about both." Alex smirked, hoping to get a free meal out of her well off co-worker.

"Hold up, aren't you two supposed to be trick or treating?" Morgan rose a brow at the young agents.

"Aren't you supposed to have a date tonight?" Alex retorted. Morgan dropped his jaw in reaction to the sassy comment.

"I see you Kennedy, I see you."

"Come on. I'm starving and there's no way I'm going out looking like this. Let's get going."

* * *

 **A/N: HI! HELLO! Wow okay yes this is a short chapter (my version of a short chapter) but putting this chapter and the next one together would have been ridiculously long. So the next chapter will be completely out of the BAU and will be the team (minus JJ and Hotch) going out together! It was so fun writing it and actually kinda hard too (I watched a lot of scenes from the show when they all went out together to see how Reid acted). But ugh i love the chapter and here are some hints: someone flirts with Reid, two of them get drunk, and Reid finds himself in Alex's apartment.**

 **Review review review for the next chapter please :)**

 _ **P.S: I dont know if anyone else was like this, but watching the ending scene from 8x05 (with Henry and Reid) made me smile so horribly big my cheeks actually hurt. Didn't even realize till the scene was over either!** _


	6. Halloween

Both Alex and Reid were initially hoping for drinks to be just between each other. Alex finally admitted to herself that she had grown fond of the doctor and was desperately hoping to know him better. There was something about him that just seemed…incredibly right. The way he dressed, the way he spoke, the way he knew everything…it made Alex feel different. A good different. He treated her differently than the others did. She liked him a lot.

As for Reid, he felt the same way. Except, he didn't know how to know her better. He wasn't like Morgan, although at times like this he wished he was, he knew nothing when it came to girls. A mixture of worry and excitement settled over him when the new, young agent asked him for drinks. Did she mean it like that—like as a date? Or was she trying to get to know him better like he was. Although, Reid had a feeling he liked Alex a little more than she liked him.

He shook it off. _No_ , he reprimanded. There's no dating when it comes to the team.

Yet, Rossi and Morgan were tempting him otherwise. They saw how he looked at the girl—with wonder and compassion. They knew about Reid's feelings than he did.

Though initially he was disappointed Morgan and Rossi were tagging along, deep down he was a bit relieved. He was sure Morgan would help flow the conversation and make sure he didn't do, well, anything stupid. So, maybe there was a positive side to all this.

"Sorry, I promise I'll make this quick. Alex assured, turning the key in her door. "If I go out on Halloween looking like this, my social life has officially hit an all time low." Reid scanned her professional attire, finding nothing wrong in the way she looked. But, that decision was hers.

"No, no. It's okay." He promised. Alex pushed the door open, walking into her apartment. Reid reluctantly followed, wondering what he got himself into. He was alone with her. In her apartment. What was he doing? What was he going to talk about?

Why couldn't he stop being so nervous?

"Make yourself comfy, I'll only be a minute." Alex stripped off her jacket and tossed it on the beige upholstered couch. After flipping the lamp rested on the wooden table end on, she disappeared into her room and closed the door behind her. Reid took in his surroundings while the pleasant scent of vanilla and plums wafted up his nostrils. He could tell Alex liked wood—specifically dark wood. She was definitely more traditional than modern. Her coffee table, end tables, and floors all were fashioned in a dark mahogany expresso. By the sound his shoes made on the floor, he could tell it was fake, but nonetheless still good looking. The walls were covered in a cool gray, a color Reid had once read was used on walls for a feeling of stability and safety. A white bookshelf stood out amongst the room as it sat against one of the walls. Reid found himself compelled over to it like a magnet. Some of the shelves contained trinkets—a small potted plant, a silver clock with clearly dead batteries, a decorated vase, and a small silver dachshund figurine. Reid had scanned the room in search of a dog bowl, but found none. The apartment had no sign of a dog either. A snow globe from New York City and a scented candle labeled 'Plum Blossom' propped up an array of books—which ranged from Poe to Clancy to Thoreau. Reid picked up the small snow globe, toying at its plastic frame. He had gone to New York a few times on the job, but never for pleasure. It was only a train ride away, yet he had never found the time.

"Do you want me to drive?" Alex came out of her room, releasing her wavy hair out of a bun. Startled, Reid dropped the snow globe onto the floor with a loud clank. _Please don't be broken,_ he prayed.

"I'm sorry." Reid immediately stammered, leaning down and picking up the globe.

"No worries." She shrugged the drop off, messing the bottom of her wavy locks up. Through his lashes, he peaked up at the girl. He had never seen her out of work attire. She traded in her skirt for a pair of fitted, black jeans that hugged her curves. Her blazer and top were swapped for a loosely fitted taupe tank. Her booties, which Reid constantly questioned the comfort of, were opted for black heeled sandals…which he still questioned the comfort of. He had to admit, she looked good in something other than professional attire. "Seriously, I don't even know why I still have it out." She commented, making her fellow agent feel better. He figured it was from a memorable family trip. Though, he didn't pursue to ask. He had noticed the apartment had lacked any family photos.

"You can drive, if you'd like." He offered.

"Sure. But if I have too much to drink, the cars on you." Alex accusingly pointed, sarcastically of course. Reid nodded.

"I'll drive back if that happens."

"Well then," she grabbed her clutch off the coffee table, "Come, Doctor. Let's not leave the people waiting" She professionally mocked. Reid walked over to the door and held it open for her.

"After you." He insisted, watching her quicken her pace so he didn't have to stand there long.

"Thanks." She beamed.

* * *

Alex drove down the sleek, dark roads, excitement bubbling inside her as the car grew closer to Herman's, one of the popular casual bars in the area. While Hotch and JJ were out trick or treating with their kids, the rest of the team were awaiting the arrival of the two _late_ agents. Even Penelope, who decided to let Henry trick or treat with just his parents tonight, was there.

"I don't understand." Reid mumbled under his breath, defeatingly stopping his ongoing flipping through different radio stations.

"You don't understand? Is the radio like brain surgery?"

"No, I could understand that. I don't understand why there's no good music."

"What do you like?" Alex wondered. She had asked herself the question in the past; what kind of music would Spencer Reid like? Rock? Alternative? Definitely _not_ pop. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to be found listening to some Justin Beiber.

"Verdi, Chopin, Puccinni…" He mused. She jerked her gaze from the road to Reid in confusion.

"Are those bands?" She felt stupid asking. One down side to being friends with Spencer Reid was, well, always feeling incompetent.

"Composers. As in Classical Music." He stated. It was official, Alex felt like worlds _biggest_ idiot.

"Oh!" She wanted to slap herself in the face. "Like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven."

"Yeah!"

"What about the guy who did Swan Lake and The Nutcracker? God I know it's something with a C…"

"Tchaikovsky. Yes, he's great. I'm surprised you know him." Alex tried not to be insulted at the jab.

"I did ballet when I was little. We learned about it in lessons." She stated.

"Ah, I see." Reid could hear the change of tone, knowing she had been insulted for some reason. Though, he failed to understand why. "What do you have on your iPod?"

"Nobody you would like." She chuckled.

"Like who? Try me."

"Twenty-One Pilots, Coldplay, The Neighborhood, The Fray…hell, I've even got some Beyoncé and Drake on there." She laughed. Her music taste was strange, but it was possible Reid liked something along that line.

"Drake? Is he related to the science fiction author David Drake?" Needless to say, Alex's jaw slacked.

"Not exactly." She stifled a chuckle. She didn't understand how someone who memorized an entire textbook on quantum physics couldn't know anything related to pop culture. Finally, Herman's blinding neon light sign came into view.

"Hm," Reid huffed, "Never heard of him then." Alex pulled into a parking spot at the bar across from the entrance.

"Come on genius, we're late." She threw the car into park and threw her door open.

"Finally! We thought you two bailed!" Morgan howled from the sidewalk. Beside him stood Garcia and Rossi. Garcia was still dressed in her Halloween attire while Rossi opted for his same work clothes, minus the sports jacket. Per usual, Morgan sported a tee and jeans.

"Nice to keep us waiting." Rossi joked as Alex walked up to them, Reid quickly followed behind.

"Who's the one keeping us waiting? I'm here. We're still outside." Alex noted.

"You, my fellow agent, are correct-emundo. Let's leave these chums and get our Halloween drink on!" Penelope squealed, hooking Alex's arms within hers, and pulling her into the bar.

Herman's was like any other bar—dimly lit with an overwhelming scent of beer. Loud patrons dressed up in an array of costumes hung out by the bar and at the tables, which were topped with little lamps covered in fake spider webs. Music blared from the dance floor, where several men and women's bodies rubbed up against each other while the drinks in their hands spilled around carelessly.

"Five." Garcia held up her fingers to the hostess. He grabbed a few drink menus and led the group to a round table. Alex was surprised. She had never gone to a bar where they came to the table and served you before.

"Happy Halloween." He exited as they all sat down. Nobody but Garcia needed to look at a menu.

"Are you guys going all out tonight or just casual?" She asked, her perfectly pink manicured nail skimming over the drink list.

"Well, if Rossi's paying…" Alex suggested with a wink.

"I'll pay for a round." Rossi corrected.

"Come on Rossi, you promised me some dinner." Morgan reminded.

"Fine. Two." He caved.

"Yeah!" Alex and Morgan snickered, high fiving each other from across the table.

"Now, if we went to _The Benjamin_ , all rounds would be on me." Rossi stated. Morgan groaned.

"What's The Benjamin?" Alex finally asked after Garcia rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Rossi's favorite place. It's this old, run down dumpy Karaoke bar downtown." Morgan explained. Alex laughed.

"Hey! Hey! It wasn't always like that. It used to be _the_ place to be a few years back. It used to be the stars' place of choice. It was hoppin'. It was also where I met Carolyn, God bless her soul." Alex looked from Morgan to Garcia to Reid, wondering who Carolyn was.

"His first wife." Reid elaborated.

"Gotcha." She acknowledged. "Well, it's worth giving a shot. I'm sure I can handle it if the drinks are on Rossi." Alex smugly smiled.

"I can't believe you haven't taken me yet, Rossi." Reid commented.

"Yeah, yeah. Both of you keep your schedule open." Rossi pointed a finger at her. Alex knew she'd be going to The Benjamin sooner than later.

"I'd also pay a pretty penny to hear you sing." She rose a brow.

"Kennedy, wouldn't we all." Morgan burst out in a laugh. Before the group could get another word in, a blonde bartender maneuvered over to the table in her ridiculously high heels.

"What can I get you guys?" She joyfully asked, flipping a blonde curl over her shoulder and adjusting the sparkly red devil ears on top of her head. Alex couldn't help but notice the low cut and short black dress she wore, and not to mention how both Morgan and Reid were trying to avert their eyes.

"Glenmorangie on the rocks." Rossi simply stated. "And, all on my tab." He handed the girl his black AmEx. She eagerly reached over and took it.

"What about you?" The blonde looked over Morgan like Alex would look at a piece of cake.

"Whatever's on tap and a shot of Hennessey, sweetheart." The corners of his mouth turned up in a seductive smile. Offended, Garcia lightly hit Morgan on the arm.

"Sugar Bear, do not call anyone other than me sweetheart." She huffed. The blonde's eyes bulged and she moved on immediately to a fuming Garcia.

"Long Island Iced Tea." She requested, her eyes burrowing into the blonde. Then the blonde's eyes landed on Reid.

"What about you handsome?" Reid shifted his eyes away from her.

"Just a water." He nodded, handing the blonde the stack of menus.

"Nothing else?" Her voice was like butter as she adjusted herself closer to Reid, making Alex extremely uncomfortable.

"Nope. But, Kennedy what do you want?" He immediately asked. She made a mental note to stop calling Reid Spencer, since he clearly refused to call her Alex.

"Gin and Tonic." She answered in a quick swift.

"I'll have those right out for you." The blonde stated, flouncing off in her heels. Morgan's eyes trailed after her.

"Looks like someone has the hots for pretty boy." Morgan's cheeky smile went from ear to ear. It was hard for him to hold back a cackle. Cheeks burning, Reid looked away and occasionally to Garcia for help. This wasn't the kind of ' _girl help'_ he expected from Morgan when he joined them for drinks.

"She also hit on you, dumb ass." Alex mumbled, her eyes rolling over.

"Someone's jealous."

"Just stating the facts." Alex sat there, brows raised and face blank. Her arms crossed over her chest and she leaned back in her seat. She was not jealous!

Okay, maybe a _little_ bit. But she had no right to be. The blonde bartender brought the round of fresh drinks over to the table and left as quickly as possible, but not after winking at Reid.

"Go hit on her, pretty boy!"

"I'm good." Reid pursed his lips.

"What's the harm? Come on." Morgan grinned mischievously.

"Not my type." Reid admitted with a shrug. It was the truth, after all. With a smug smile, Alex picked up her drink and took a sip. _What was Spencer's type_ , she wondered? _Why do you care_ , she also wondered?

"Well, my chances are slim to none now thank you Miss Penelope." Morgan groaned.

"To all my pleasure, my darling." The two bantered.

"So," Rossi sighed and turned to Alex, "Alexandra, how's the job?"

"Good—great! I'm still getting used to it, but I love it. It beats interning by a mile."

"Hotch treating you ok?"

"Fine, so far." Alex debated whether or not to ask the question she had been dying to ever since she got here. "Does the man ever smile?" Rossi smiled in reaction to the girl's question.

"Occasionally." He took a dragged out sip of his expensive Scotch.

"He's had a rough few years. His ex-wife died a little way back." Reid replied, noticing the confusion in Alex's eyes. She definitely wasn't worlds happiest person, but she didn't understand how Hotch couldn't smile at some things. Once again, Alex found herself internally debating whether or not to ask how. She noticed the somber looks on her coworkers faces, and decided it was best not to.

"All in good time." Rossi assured. "Shots are on me." He announced.

"Whoa—hold up Rossi. You know the rules." Morgan stopped him. He rose a brow until he looked over to Alex.

"My wallet thanks you profusely." He grinned.

"What rules?" She questioned Morgan, having a feeling her wallet wasn't going to be happy in a minute.

"New agent buys a round of shots." Alex's jaw slacked.

"Seriously?" She was answered by a chorus of yes'. "Fine." She sighed and stood up, not daring to call the blonde devil bartender over again. "But no more work talk. It's the weekend." She pointed her finger around the table.

"Surprise us!" Garcia called as she walked off to the bar. Alex pushed past groups of people and somehow made it to the bar, where she struggled to catch the bartenders attention. She leaned against the bar, quickly growing impatient. She finally reached into her back pocket and pulled out a wad of fives and tens, immediately flagging down a muscular man.

"What can I get you?" Alex's eyes quickly skimmed over the wall of bottles, silently asking herself why she hadn't figured this out prior.

"Uh, five shots. Absolut." She rushed. The bulked bartender spun around behind the bar, grabbing a bottle and pouring it into five small glasses.

"Twenty-five fifty." He stated, placing the glasses in front of Alex. She handed the man thirty, telling him to keep the change.

"Happy Halloween." He nodded graciously at her before moving onto the next customer.

Getting to the table with hands full of shot glasses was a struggle for Alex. Though, she had only spilled on her hand once and she was thoroughly impressed she didn't drop them all to the ground.

"Thanks, Kennedy."

"Drink up." Everyone but Reid took their shot, clanked them together, and quickly downed them. Alex's throat burned as the pungent liquid slithered down. She grabbed her glass and chased it with the now icy gin and tonic. She noticed the group ordered a basket of French Fries and some pretzels in her absence. She reached across the table and grabbed part of a pretzel, popping it into her mouth and savoring the flavor.

"Reid, take the damn shot." Morgan ordered.

"I'm not a shot guy."

"Come on."

"Hey, don't annoy him." Alex protected, grabbing Reid's still full shot and downing it. Her face squinted up as her throat burned even worse the second time. "It's more for me." Reid smiled at her, silently gracious he didn't have to drink. Garcia chuckled while munching on a pretzel and was sipping up the rest of her drink.

"Still drinking like we're in college, I see." Rossi commented.

"Nah, she's weak." Morgan disagreed.

"You want to challenge that, Sugar Bear?"

"Oh, you're so on."

* * *

Time flew by for the group as they all got to know each other on a more personal level. In between shots, they told stories from college, the academy, and their social life. Morgan hadn't failed to notice that Alex had moved closer to Reid, and he had just texted the boy to ' _keep up the good work'_. That had made the thirty-year-old relax a bit, much to his avail.

Alex soon felt the effects of the four shots and one and a half drinks she had consumed. She was feeling good, better than she had in a while. She felt floaty, but in a great way…if it was possible. She prayed to God she wasn't acting like she was drunk. Reid was dead sober and she didn't want him saying it was time to go home. At least, not any time soon.

"I'm just saying." Currently, Rossi was just finishing up a lecturing the group on how to not take shots with cheap alcohol.

"Not everyone is willing to spend a hundred dollars on a bottle of Scotch, Rossi." Reid commented. Rossi was like Reid and didn't find a fascination in getting drunk too often, but he did enjoy a good alcohol when he came across one.

"But it's so worth it!" Rossi exclaimed.

"Not with our paychecks." Garcia disagreed, sipping on her now third drink.

"Heard that, Penny G." Alex agreed. The two leaned across the table and high fived each other. Rossi and Reid looked at each other: yup, the girls were definitely _not_ sober.

"Ah, and here I was thinking they forgot about us!" Morgan hollered as the bartender brought over three shots with a lime wedged in the rim. They were all placed on the table.

"You keeping up, Kennedy?" He smirked, noticing her frown and glare at the salted rim.

"Nope, I draw my line at tequila." Alex disagreed, knowing her limits even while feeling like this.

"Boo!" Garcia shouted.

"Emily taught you her knowledge on the Bureau but not on her drinking? I'm disappointed." Morgan shook his head, thinking of all the times he had gone out to bars with the former agent and she had drunk her weight in tequila.

"Fine, fine." Alex groaned. Morgan and Garcia cheered. Garcia, Morgan, and Alex grabbed the shooter glass and the three proceeded to licked the salt off half the rim, unhinged their jaw, and downed the shot. Reid couldn't help but laugh as Alex looked at him in pure disgust as she sucked on part of the lime. Tears dotted her eyes.

"I can't believe you do that for fun." Reid commented. _Fun! That's right_. Alex finally remembered what she was going to ask earlier.

"Speaking of fun," Alex piped up, "Do you guys do this every weekend? Because bring me."

"No, we do our own thing."

"Sometimes." Rossi added.

"We do hang out a lot."

"Reid and I went to a movie and dinner last week." Garcia added. "And JJ and I went for drinks the night before."

"What did you guys see?" Alex wondered, drunkenly enthralled.

"Back to back Star Wars Episode I and Avengers."

"Didn't pick you as a Marvel fan." Alex thought.

"He's not! That's me!" Garcia announced.

"Hey! I like it! It's just not realistic." Reid defended. "Sci-Fi nerd." He admitted.

"Of course it's not realistic, it's a superhero movie." Rossi stated.

"Well if superheroes were real, it wouldn't be realistic. There's mistakes in the film."

"Do you notice every little detail?" Rossi laughed in realization that his question was probably stupid. "You know what, don't answer that."

"For the record, the answer is yes." Reid quickly added. Rossi rolled his eyes sarcastically and sipped the rest of his drink, quickly flagging down a bartender to get a refill.

"Remind me not to hash out a movie with you." Alex joked with a wink.

"You'd have to see one with him first!" A tipsy Morgan interrupted. Was Alex obliviously flirting? Oh God, she hoped not. No, she didn't think she was. Morgan was just being an ass and probably trying to get Reid laid, she thought. Well, at least she hoped.

"Don't you have some desperate women to talk to, Derek?" She called back, hoping the blush she felt coming on blended in with the alcohol induced redness in her cheeks. Beside him, Garcia pressed a finger onto Morgan's shoulder and made a sizzling sound.

"Burn!" She exclaimed. Alex threw her head back and giggled, but not failing to notice Rossi yawning beside her.

"No, don't do that. That's contagious." She pointed a finger at him.

"What can I say, I'm too old to keep up with you kids."

"You're Italian, you're made to keep up with us."

"Touché, kid."

"Well then, if you're 'too old to keep up with us kids', what's your idea of fun Rossi?" She air quoted his words.

"A night of cooking and a nice glass of scotch that's preferably older than you." He smirked, pressing his glass filled with a fresh drink to his lips, and taking a long sip.

"You cook?"

"Does he cook?" Reid laughed at the question. "Yes."

"No way!" Alex cried. "Feed me. Please. There's only so much boxed mac and cheese and take out I can take."

"You're going to love my grandmothers Rigatoni al Forno. Add a nice glass of Chianti and we have perfection."

"I don't even know what that is and I'm already loving it."

"Just wait till you taste my cannoli's."

"Can we go now?" Alex half joked. Drinking made her starving, and the sound of Rossi's cooking made her mouth salivate.

"Really, I'd be in." Reid added.

"All in good time children." Rossi lightly patted the table. He already began thinking of when he could fit a cooking night with the team in.

"Did I hear Rossi talking Italian food?" Derek called in excitement.

"Not just—"

"Oh My God!" Garcia cried, all heads turning towards her. "I love this song!" She squealed. She jumped up out of her seat and ran over to Alex, pulling her chair out from the table.

"Garcia!" She piped.

"Dance with me, Alex! Up! Up!" She begged, grabbing Alex's arm and pulling her up out of her seat.

"Wait, okay! Okay!" She erupted in giggles as Garcia attempted to drag her to the dance floor. She leaned into the table, grabbing her drink first, and then gave into Garcia's pull.

"Let's go Chocolate Thunder!" She demanded as she pulled Alex off.

Morgan, Reid, and Rossi all looked to each other with raised brows, holding in judging chuckles.

"You heard her, Morgan." Reid reminded.

"You mean Chocolate Thunder." Rossi corrected.

"Yeah, yeah." Morgan downed the rest of his drink and went after the two girls. Alex was swinging her hips, her drink in the air, as she danced alongside a boisterous Garcia who was now gyrating with Morgan. In seconds, Morgan already had scantily costumed girls around him.

"Why don't you go over there? I thought you wanted to get to know her." Rossi commented at Reid watching his fellow agents.

"Me? No, I never said that." Rossi put his drink down and gave Reid a long stare.

"Spencer, we profile for a living. That, and, Morgan told me." He smugly smiled.

"Right, should have figured." Reid pursed his lips. "I'll just stay here."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the men decided it was time to leave. The girls were dragged off the dance floor and out into the parking lot. Garcia was finishing up singing a song that the DJ had been playing inside. Her and Alex, arm in arm, skipped off the sidewalk and onto the pavement towards the sea of parked cars. Alex unlatched her arm and stopped skipping, staring at her car and then down to her empty hands. She finally turned around to face Rossi, Reid, and Morgan.

"Someone stole my keys." She stated.

"I have your keys." Reid reminded.

"Oh." She paused and blinked for a moment. "Yeah, I'm not driving."

"I'd hope not, sweetheart." A now sober Morgan laughed.

"And how are you getting home, Derek?" Alex slapped her hands on her hips.

"It's called driving, Alex." He pulled out his keys from his pocket and waved them.

"That would make sense."

"I'll see you all Monday?" Rossi asked. The two men nodded and they bared their farewells.

"Bye Dave!" Garcia sang.

"Later Rossi! Happy Halloween!" Alex called, watching him walk off to his Cadillac. "Isn't he just the coolest?" She giggled to Garcia.

"The _cooliest_. But you know who's cooler?"

"Who?"

"Me!"

"Well of course, Penelope!" She squealed.

"Jesus Christ, lord help me getting this woman into bed." Morgan shook his head, staring at his intoxicated best friend. "You good taking her home?" He asked Reid, motioning over to the brunette being twirled around by Garcia.

"Yeah, not a problem." Reid assured.

"Yeah? You gonna stay the night?" Morgan lifted his thick eyebrows suggestively.

"No! Nothing like that! God, Morgan." He groaned.

"Ooh, someone's a bit touchy tonight." Reid failed to reply. "Sweet stuff, let's get going!"

"But Alex is so fun and we're gonna' bake cookies together."

"Specifically chocolate chip." Alex added. Morgan sighed and left Reid's side to corral Garcia up.

"Home, Penelope." Morgan ordered.

"Ugh, fine. Goodbye my sweet princess, till another day." Garcia curtseyed.

"Bye P!" Alex called as Reid led her to the car, wondering once more what he got himself into.

* * *

"Spencer," Alex rang as they walked through the door to the apartment, "I wanna be smart like you. It's not fair. How do I do that? Teach me your ways."

"Well, I guess you can start off with having an eidetic memory, read 20,000 words per minute, and have 3 PHD's." He chuckled, closing the door behind him. He watched Alex stumble as she chucked her heels off and strode over to the kitchen in search of food to eat since Reid refused her any fast food on the way home.

"That's a lot." He heard her call amongst a chorus of ruffling bags. _Oh no, what is she getting herself into?_

"Let's get you some water and in bed." Reid suggested, walking into the kitchen beside her.

"No way, I'm hardly drunk." Reid was surprised he understood her through her mouthful of Cheddar & Sour Cream Chips.

"That could be debated."

"Come on, it's not bed time. Stay! Hang out!" She begged, standing on the tip toes of her bare feet to reach up into one of the cupboards. She pulled out a bag of buttered popcorn and tossed it into the microwave.

"I probably should get home…" Reid trailed off, weighing his options.

"You like sugar right? I mean, you've got to. You put a truck load of it in your coffee." Alex padded around him, grabbing the large bag of assorted Halloween candy on the counter. "I bought this for the kids in my building, but since we went out, it's _all_ ours. Nobody can resist Halloween candy. Not even a 30-year-old." She shook the bag and suggestively rose her brows.

"Caught me." Reid sighed happily.

"Great!" Alex jumped, grabbing the large bag of candy and chips and tossed them on the coffee table. Alex plopped herself on the couch and sat Indian style, anxiously waiting for Reid to join her. After pouring the steaming popcorn into a bowl and grabbing a bottle of water for his drunk co-worker, Reid finally sat on the other end of the couch. Alex turned towards him with a smile on her face, grabbing a handful of popcorn in the midst.

"Tell me about yourself, Spencer Reid." Reid looked at Alex like she had two heads when she asked the question. Oddly enough, he was never asked to talk about himself. What was he supposed to say?

"Well, what do you want to know?" He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Anything. We work together, I might as well get to know you."

"I, uh, I grew up in Vegas." He started.

"No way. Was that, like, incredible?"

"It was fun." He shrugged.

"Did you grow up going to casinos?" She wondered.

"Once I was of age. I'm actually banned from several casinos there," Now Reid joined in with a laugh, "Including Laughlin and Pahrump."

"They banned you?" Alex cried.

"They thought my card counting abilities were considered cheating." Alex dropped her jaw in shock.

"I guess that's what you get for being a certified genius." She unwrapped a fun-sized snickers and popped it into her mouth, savoring the chocolate flavor. "God, I know I love Halloween but the candy just makes me love it even more.

"I don't blame you, I've got a real soft spot for anything and everything sweet." Reid noted, ripping open a Reese's cup and chewing on it. Alex smiled a toothy smile, knowing this was just the beginning of the night.

It was in Alex's living room where the two got to know each other. On that comfortable couch was where Reid learned her favorites— _Meet the Fockers_ , Chinese and Italian cuisine, the Highpoint Cafe, alternate rock, and chocolate.

And beside him, Alex learned his— _Le Cercle Rouge_ , Indian, Chess, classical music, and all things sugary.

"I can't believe you don't like salad either," Alex finally managed to control her giggles, "everyone looks at me like I'm crazy for not liking it! Finally, someone who understands!"

"It's the texture, right?" Reid laughed.

It was also on that couch they learned each others dislikes, which they shared a lot in common with—salad, loud chewers, rejection, and the dark.

Alex listened intently as Reid listed his dislikes—creamed spinach, shaking hands, new technology, migraines, the beach, and _Doctor Who_ conspiracy theories. Needless to say, he also hated to know that Alex had never watched Doctor Who before.

"Let's watch an episode." Alex eagerly suggested. "Is it on Netflix?"

"What's Netflix?" Reid replied. Once again, Alex failed to comprehend how such a smart guy didn't know anything about modern technology. Instantaneously, Alex grabbed the remote and after searching, she found this Doctor Who phenomena on Netflix. They started off with the first episode, munching on candy and popcorn in the midst. Reid had to explain to Alex the concept of the show, and why the main character had no real name and what the hell a TARDIS was. Before they knew it, they were on the second episode.

"It was relaunched in 2005, and I actually like the current version better. Which is strange since remakes are never as good. Just wait till you get to the current season, it's seven right now." Reid said, passion glimmering in his eyes. When Alex failed to reply, he turned his head over to ask her if she was still enjoying the second episode and if she wanted to continue. But, he found her fast asleep against the couch's pillow. Her wrist was crooked under her arm and she peacefully breathed in and out. His eyes darted from the TV, to the candy wrapper covered coffee table, and back to Alex. He knew there would only be 13.25 minutes left of the episode, so with a smile, he continued to watch.

* * *

 **A/N: Holy Moly, i thought this chapter would be about 2,000 words. I guess i got a little too excited and outdid myself. I really hope you guys like this. I had a lot of fun writing it! Please please review, i really hope this chapter is alright :] Thoughts & comments!**


	7. The Murderer's Apprentice

_Chapter Seven_

 _The Murderer's Apprentice_

 _Chapter Song: Yellow by Coldplay (Scene: Opening)_

Alex awoke that morning with a throbbing headache behind her eyes. Her back ached and the morning sun burned her eyes. They opened and closed, blinking the sleep out and silently wishing the morning sun would decide to go hide away underneath the ground. When her eyes finally fluttered open for the final time, she took in her surroundings. Her brows furrowed, realizing she was on the couch. Getting home last night was hazy, but she definitely didn't remember falling asleep. She looked down to see that underneath the soft, Sherpa blanket draped over her, she was still in last nights' clothes. The TV was left on pause with a message _'are you still watching?_ ' plastered across the screen. Her eyes darted over to a bottle of water and pills sitting on the edge of the candy wrapped cluttered coffee table. Tucked underneath the bill bottle was a ripped piece of paper. Reaching forward, Alex grabbed the paper filled with chicken scratch writing.

 _For when you wake up. Hydrate. – Reid_

She subconsciously smiled. Though short and to the point, the letter had been heartwarming to Alex. Her cheeks reddened at the thought of her falling asleep in front of Reid. She'd done it before on the jet, sure, but drunk? She probably looked like a corpse. An idiot corpse. She quickly wondered if he had put the blanket over her. He had been nice enough to leave out Tylenol and water, so the chances were high. Yawning, Alex kicked the blanket off and slipped the note back onto the table. She popped three small pills in her mouth and washed them down with the water. Hopefully she'd be feeling better within the hour. Although she had all intentions of going back to bed, the thought of food wouldn't allow Alex to. Her stomach grumbled in agreement. Standing up, she cracked her back and stretched out her limbs. Never again with that couch, she vowed.

Alex padded around the kitchen, the only thing not hurting in her body was her bare feet. She popped a couple of waffles in the toaster and waited, in the mean time munching on a box of honey nut Cheerios. Once the waffles popped up, scaring her fully awake, she grabbed her fixings and sat at the kitchen table, munching on her syrup-sogged breakfast. It was hard for her to not think about last night. She wasn't sure of how embarrassing she had really been, but she did know for sure that she had an amazing time. And that was just the first part of the night. She enjoyed getting to know Reid on a more personal level, and in a more intimate place as well. In her view, talking and watching a new TV show was just as fun as the bar they had gone to. Alex finally got the thought of how great of a guy Reid was out of her stubborn head, but not after thanking him for last night, and understating the fun she had. And she couldn't help but smile.

After finishing breakfast, Alex threw her plates in the sink, too tired to deal with them at the moment. As she headed to the bathroom, she shot Penelope a quick text asking how she was feeling this morning. Her simple reply was death.

And that's the first word Alex thought of as she looked into the bathroom mirror. Her day old makeup was worn and smudged. She groaned, not in the mood to deal with it. Immediately stripping of her clothes and hopping in a hot shower.

* * *

The next day, Alex wrapped a towel around her body while her phone buzzed around the bathroom counter. She could feel the wet hair sticking to her back as she hurried out of the shower and to the counter. Her eyes rolled when she saw Morgan's name flash across the ID.

"It's too early for me to be taking calls. This better be good, Derek."

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." She could just about hear the smirk on his face.

"I'm hanging up." She dryly stated.

"Whoa, hold up fresh meat." He chuckled. "We've got a case, Hotch wants us in." Alex immediately frowned.

"But it's Sunday." She whined, eyeing the fresh set of pajamas she had planned on wearing to hang around the house the rest of the day.

"Serial killers don't take weekends off." Morgan replied.

"Right." She sighed in irritation.

"See you soon, sleeping beauty."

* * *

"Didn't think you'd make it." Morgan commented with a smirk as Alex walked into the bullpen, go bag in hand. He was standing with Reid, the two looking chipper. She looked at Morgan, his muscles bulging out of his sleeveless tank.

"What, did some frat boy switch shirts with you?" Alex retorted. Reid stifled a chuckle while Morgan playfully rolled his eyes. "Why are you two look so awake?" She noticed the pair playfully talking.

"Morgan was trying to kill me." Reid nonchalantly stated.

"Oh please, it was just a little softball."

"Did I hear softball?" Hotch asked while walking in, files piled in his hands.

"For the game against the secret service. Bastards beat us every year."

"Reid doesn't play sports." Hotch reminded.

"Well, one of our boys' wife is about to pop out a baby any day now. And if it happens before Wednesday, Reid's our replacement!" He patted him on the back, pushing Reid forward.

"Interesting." Hotch walked out one last time.

"So one out of ten, how good are you?" Alex directly asked Reid while peaking into the files Hotch left on the table.

"It doesn't matter because I'm not doing it."

"Come on, Reid! You owe me this favor. At least humor me."

"Humor the man, Reid." She agreed with a smirk, then continuing skimming the file.  
"I-ugh! I'll think about it. No guarantees." He stated.

"Miami?" Alex subconsciously stated aloud, interest laced in her voice, "Think there's anytime for me to go back and get a bathing suit?"

"Afraid not," JJ sighed as she walked in, "We'll be lucky if we're back by Wednesday."

"Great." Morgan groaned, the softball game exiting his mind and the profile entering.

* * *

Alex and Morgan walked through the Miami heat, both of them wishing they were in the city for something other than work. That, or wishing the unsub chose a different city. Alex had been to Miami once before during her college years, and she had forgotten how brutal the heat actually was. Even at this time of year.

"What kind of sicko kills dogs?" Alex scowled as her and Morgan walked around the park where the last dog was found.

"The same sicko that kills people." Morgan sarcastically laughed.

"People I can maybe understand. They suck. But dogs? Now that just crosses a line with me." Morgan stopped in his place and peered out of his dark sun glasses.

"Kennedy, should I be considering you for any unsolved murders we have?" He joked.

"Yes." She rolled her eyes. "I can see the headlines now. FBI agent really serial killer: the best of both worlds." She paused before playfully shoving Morgan. "No you idiot I just love dogs."

"Well clearly this guy doesn't. The last dog was found in the bushes over there." Morgan pointed to the bush where two girls were chatting beside a bicycle.

"And the other ones were found in a similar park a little down the road." Alex recalled.

"Except for the one found in an alley about a mile from here." He corrected. A smirk engulfed Morgan's face. "Hey, Kennedy. Remember those days?" He pointed to a couple vigorously kissing by the lake. Alex rolled her eyes.

"No." She disagreed.

"Ah, come on. Where'd you hang out when you were a teenager?"

"I don't know. The mall, this mom and pop coffee shop back in my hometown…I wasn't like that in high school." Alex shrugged. Morgan stiffened in realization.

"We passed a mall and a coffee shop on the way here."

"So?"

"We also passed a high school."

"What are you implying? That the unsub's a teenager?"

"It would explain why he's so impulsive." Morgan whipped out his phone and dialed Garcia immediately.

Well, I need your help, sweetness." There was a pause as Garcia answered him. "I need you to widen your search for violent offenders in the area to juveniles. Thank you, angel." He hung up.

"Back to the station?" Alex asked, hopeful to get out of the brutal heat.

"You know it." The two walked in sync as they headed bac to the SUV. Alex couldn't get her mind off the heat while Morgan couldn't get his mind off the one question that had been gnawing at him since Alex stepped foot in the bullpen earlier that day.

"Soo," Morgan dragged. "How was your weekend?" Alex already knew what he meant, she didn't need to be a profiler to catch onto the raising brows and his suggestive tone. She rolled her eyes—something she found herself doing a lot more since she was around Morgan.

"It was great until it was cut short."

"And what did you do to make it so great?" He nudged. She could tell he was extremely hopeful.

"Let's see…it all started Saturday morning when I woke up…" Morgan's eyes glimmered with hope as the two stopped beside the SUV. "And made myself a nice hangover breakfast in my pajamas. Alone." A sadistic part of her felt satisfied seeing his suggestive smile fall into a frown, to disappoint him Reid hadn't spent the night. Alex hopped into the passenger seat of the car, still not having a clue of why Morgan was so intent on pushing the two together. Morgan circled around the car and hopped himself in the driver's seat.

"Way to play a brother." He shook his head in disappointment.

"I don't know where you get these ideas in your head but I'm not sleeping with him." Alex stated while the car peeled out of the park parking lot.

"I never said to sleep with him, Kennedy."

"Fine, but I still don't know where you get these ideas."

"Because you two like each other and I've got to give boy genius a little push."

"You can't force someone into liking me—hold up. A, I never said I liked him. And B, who made you Cupid of my love life?"

"Me when you refused to see that a very good man likes you."

"He does not like me." She forcefully stated. "I...I do not like him. We met a couple of months ago. We're friends. There's nothing more of it nor could there ever be. Dating a coworker's a big no no."

"So you have thought about dating." The smirk on Morgan's face was bigger than that of the Cheshire cat.

"Yes, I've taken a real particular liking to Hotch." Her smirked matched his. Morgan was now the one finding himself rolling his eyes.

"Kennedy, you like hanging out wit him right? You find him somewhat attractive?"

"Pleaseeeee drop this." She dragged on. Morgan groaned in reply.

"Ignoring the question, Kennedy."

"Okay, answer this first. Has Spencer ever said to you that he outright, quote on quote, has feelings for me?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Exactly, you're trying to get your boy lid and me nor Reid are having it." Alex cut Morgan off as he pulled into a parking spot at the front of the station.

"I've never seen a more stubborn pair of people than the both of you." He huffed, exiting the car.

"We've got a deranged psycho on the loose, can we finally drop this?"

"Fine, but don't come crawling back to me saying that I was right."

"My pleasure." Alex grinned while they walked through the front entrance of the station. Alex sniffed the air. "Ooh! I smell food. I'm starving."

"I do need one favor though." Morgan sighed while rushing to keep up with the hungry female.

"Oh, now you need a favor from me?" Alex smirked.

"You gotta convince Reid to play for the softball game."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because he'll listen to you more than me. Especially when it comes to sports."

"Then don't make him play."

"Do you want to take his place?" Morgan cocked his head.

"Hard pass." She stated while walking into the conference room. Her eyes zeroed in on the platter of sandwiches next to the freshly filled coffee maker.

"Dibs on any chicken." JJ, Reid, and Rossi stared at the girl as she excitedly grabbed a sandwich and picked the lettuce and tomato off the sandwich. Morgan rose a brow as he plopped himself down in a chair.

"Hey, no judging. You're two one on a softball team." She pointed from Reid to Morgan and finally paused. "Now to think of it, I didn't even realize the Bureau had a softball team."

"Since when do you play?" JJ's brows rose.

"Since Morgan drafted me." Reid shrugged.

"Really?" Rossi stifled a laugh. "Why?"

"Don't let the skinny geek thing fool you, I know the good doctors deceptively athletic."

"Oh, it's deceptive alright!" Rossi teased.

"Cut the man some slack, Rossi." Alex laughed, pouring a cup of coffee into a Styrofoam cup.

"I'm just saying, the day I see the kid make a home run is the day pigs fly."

"You wanna bet?" She smirked. Beside Rossi, Reid paled. "Any time you can back me up here, Reid."

"I don't even think I'm playing so there's nothing to bet on." He flatly said.

"But—"

"JJ, what did you find out from the pet owners?" Hotch entered the room, ending the conversation.

"The dogs just disappeared from their yard. But, that means he did get into their yard undetected so that means he stalked them." Alex sipped from her coffee while listening to JJ.

"Excuse me, Agent Hotchner? Another woman's body was just found." One of the detectives on the case alarmed. The team sighed as their lunch break was now cut in half and that another woman had been killed since they had been in town. Alex looked down to her coffee in disappointment before quickly downing the rest.

* * *

Reid, Morgan, and Alex ducked under the yellow caution tape and walked towards the truck where the latest prostitutes body was found. They peaked into the bed of the truck, where the dirty, lifeless body was rested. Reid's eyes flicked up to see Alex's reaction, but she bore none. Her face was emotionless and still. He speculated how she adapted so quickly to seeing the bodies. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to the girl who had a panic attack her first day on the job from the sight of a corpse just a few short months ago. In the back of his mind, he already knew the answer: _the job numbs you._ After a while, it becomes normal. It did for him, it did for the rest of the team. Though, they all did have nightmares once and a while. And just like it did for them, it would be the same for Alex.

A plastic bag was tied over the head of the brunette prostitute, a hole rested smack in the middle of her forehead. Was that a gunshot? That was new, Alex though.

"Her name was Vicky Thomas, a 22-year-old prostitute out of Daytona Beach. She had a three-year-old son." Morgan stated after his short phone conversation with Hotch.

"The victimolgoy matches." Reid stated.

"But nothing else does." Alex rejected.

"This is also a residential area; it's not visited by prostitutes."

"Well he didn't kill her here he just dumped her." Alex looked closer to examine the head wound through the plastic. It wasn't a gun shot, the girl had been bludgeoned with something.

"She's got bite marks and a hit to the head. You don't go from beating to…this."

"He didn't bite the other victims. And look how dirty she is, he must have rolled her around in the trash."

"Forensic counter measure." Reid simply assured.

"This M.O is way too different."

"It can't be a copy cat, the story literally just made the news." Reid wondered Alex's opinion on the unsub. "Do you think he's evolving?"

"No, this isn't the same person." She disagreed. "They both used the same bag."

"What if we're dealing with a team." Reid suggested.

"If there is two of them, they're feeding off each other. This could turn into a spree real soon." Morgan mused.

"So what? We're dealing with two homicidal teenagers?"

"We're going to need to find that out." Morgan sighed.

* * *

Alex awoke to pounding on her door the next morning. She rolled out of her hotel bed and rushed to the door, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She opened the door to see Morgan and Reid, fully dressed with coffee in hand, staring at her.

"Nice PJ's." Morgan laughed, eyeing her pajama shorts and oversized 'namastay in bed' tee. He stopped himself from commenting on her messy braid. Alex looked down, her exhaustion refraining her from turning red. Morgan and Reid looked past her and peaked into her room. Case files were laid on the bottom of the bed and the nightstand.

"It's like seven AM what do you want?" She blinked.

"They found another body." Reid announced.

"We've got to be at the station in like five." She blinked twice, Morgan's words transcripting into her brain. She looked down to her pajamas and then back up to the two men.

"Ugh." She loudly groaned, turning on her heel and rushing to grab clothes out of her go bag. The door was left open and the two took an invitation to come in and watch their fellow agent run around like a headless chicken.

"Just go without me, I'll meet you there." She urged.

"And what? Walk twenty blocks or take the bus like the unsubs been doing?" Morgan scoffed.

"Hotch is going to kill me. I'm the only person in the world who's going to be fired from the FBI for not being a morning person." Alex gathered a pile of clothes and her makeup bag and threw them in the bathroom.

"Relax, Kennedy. Hotch, JJ, and Rossi already went to the crime scene. They won't know if we're a few minutes late. And I mean a few. Not a woman's version of few." Alex stared at Derek while she finished putting her hair up into a pony tail.

"That's sexist," she pointed, "and I'll be ten! Fifteen at the most!"

"Wasting time." Morgan smirked as he plopped down on her bed. Alex groaned in frustration once again before throwing the bathroom door closed behind her. Quickly, a silence fell over both Reid and Morgan while the shower ran.

"So, who's going to get her coffee?" Reid piped up. Morgan looked at him with raised brows as he kicked up his feet on the bed.

According to Reid's timing, it took Alex thirteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds to exit the bathroom. She donned a casual work outfit, had brushed out her once messy hair, and swiped out a few things of makeup.

"Did you not sleep last night?" Reid asked, awkwardly holding her coffee as Alex fumbled out of the room, pulling on one of her shoes in the process.

"I did, just not much." She answered. Reid wondered if she had been looking over the case most of the night. Him and Morgan followed in pursuit. "Not bad for girl time, right?" Alex turned around and joked. Reid handed her the coffee he had been holding. "Life saver."

"Thank you?" Reid laughed, not sure if she was referring to him or the mediocre cup of coffee.

"Thank you." She repeated. The three agents walked themselves to the parking garage and piled in one SUV: Morgan driving, Alex in the passenger, and Reid in the back. The car ride back to the Miami Police Department was filled with banter and casual talk. Neither wanted to discuss that another woman had been brutally murdered. Once they reached the station, they headed back to the briefing area and starting over looking the background information on the latest girl. By the time Reid was done with the file, and the others were only one and a half pages in, Hotch walked in. Beside him, he could hear Alex let out the slightest sigh of relief they had made it to the station before the rest of the team.

"Did you three read up on the files?" Hotch asked. Rossi and JJ soon entered with somber faces.

"Yes." Reid immediately stated.

"What did you find?" Morgan wondered, closing the manila folder.

"You were right that it was a team." Rossi nodded. Alex rose her brows in curiosity.

"I don't understand how two teenagers could be killing these girls." She said.

"It's because they're not. Ones much older. The other ones—"

"An apprentice." Reid answered Rossi's findings.

* * *

 _A/N: I'm starting to put the chapter names, numbers, and chapter songs in these :] I've got a lot of plans. Second part of this chapter will be up if I get enough reviews! And after that, boy let me tell you. I've got story plans that arc from the episodes. Kind of like Alex's own episodes that show into her past and personality, and her relationship with Reid. Speaking of the relationship, I hope im not rushing it. Im worried I am! And boy am I excited for you to get to know my first chapter im writing without an episode guide. Anyways, please post thoughts and comments and reviews! Much appreciated!_


	8. Home Run

**Chapter Eight:**

 **Home Run**

 **Chapter Song: Show Me What I'm Looking for by Carolina Liar (Baseball Scene)**

"Why do I have to be in there?" Alex whined in a hushed tone as Morgan dragged her towards a meeting room they had now dubbed an interrogation room for teenager slash self proclaimed bad boy Jose Aguilar

"Because the kid hates police officers: you look to young to be one, and you're a pretty girl. All in our favor."

"Minus the cop part."

"Exactly." Morgan sighed, shoving the file on Jose Aguilar into her hands. "And who do you think he'd talk to? You or Reid?"

"Okay, point taken." She stated. Morgan paused at the office door.

"And besides, I'm basically your S.O. So it's because I say so." He smugly grinned before walking into the room where Jose sat on a swivel chair. Alex huffed under her breath. _Supervising Officer my ass_ , she thought. The entire team was equal, even if she was younger than the rest.

"So why am I here?" The young Mexican teen grumbled. Morgan sat on the table beside him and comforted him that they just wanted to ask some questions. At the same time, Alex flipped through the dense file on Jose and paced the room. She read he was called in because he was in the emergency room after being attacked by a man wielding a hammer. She read over the vague E.R doctors report and even the written quote the doctor wrote down that he refused to talk to MPD. Alex flipped the pages, going over his records. Jose had been kicked out of two Orlando schools, once for bullying and the other for punching a kid. The report also revealed that his dad had died a while back and by the county listed on his address, he lived in a dangerous area. She stopped reading and listened to Morgan. The kid had his walls up, and pushed Morgan away every time he tried to compare his childhood to Jose's current life.

"Morgan, stop talking to him like you're the same person. You don't know what he's like." She stated while praying Morgan didn't get offended. His thick brows rose until Jose replied.

"Thank you." Jose mumbled. His eyes trailed down to the wooden table his hands rested on. "I swear I didn't do anything." He admitted.

"You don't have to tell me; we already know that." Alex assured, sitting down across the table from Jose. "I just want to know about the guy who attacked you with the hammer."

"I don't remember much." He admitted.

"How about try something? Close your eyes and concentrate. I think you'll be surprised to see how much you can remember if you try." Morgan offered. Jose's eyes drifted between Morgan and Alex before he followed. Alex looked at Morgan, awaiting him to take over the talking. But instead, Morgan silently urged her to.

"Uh, right," she scrambled for a pen and note pad. "What were you doing before you were attacked?"

"Just went to school." Alex paused, unsure of what to ask next. She looked up to Morgan for help. She'd never preformed a cognitive interview, and the fear of not knowing what to say was overwhelming.

"What was the weather like?" Morgan spoke up, taking Alex's role much to her relief.

"Hot. Per usual. It's Miami." Jose replied like it was a dumb question.

"And what were you doing just before the attack?" Alex watched Jose's eyes dart around under his lids. She readied the pen over the note pad while Jose began speaking.

"Just walking home from school. I cut through the park because I had to take a leak. Then I heard this barking. And I saw this kid. He was beating on his dog. It pissed me off, I like dogs. So, I jumped the kid and beat his ass while the dog ran away. The next thing I know I get hit from the back with something hard. Hurt like a bitch." Jose opened his eyes. "I look up to see some dude with a hammer. He popped me one more time in the arm before I took off."

"Did you know the kid who was beating the dog?" Alex finally piped up, scribbling down the last of her notes.

"Some white kid." Jose shrugged.

"So, he doesn't go to your school? You've never seen him before." She concluded.

"Nah. Not once."

"What about the guy with the hammer?"

"He was white too, but older."

"Could you maybe describe him to a sketch artist?"

"The older dude? Nah, it happened too fast."

"I understand." Alex pursed her lips and nodded, getting hit with a hammer fuzzed the kid's memory.

"But the kid…" Jose paused and thought for a moment. "I think so." Alex stifled a smile.

"Morgan, can you...I'll stay here"

"Gotcha." Morgan agreed, finally exiting the room.

"I don't need a babysitter; I'm not going to leave." Jose barked.

"I know you're not. I just wanted to thank you. You're really helping us out here."

"Yeah, well, I should have whooped the kid's ass. Maybe he wouldn't still be hurtin' people and dogs."

"Do you have a dog?" Jose found the small talk strange, but nonetheless he still reciprocated it.

"Nah, we've moved around too many times and my ma's allergic."

"I don't either. This job doesn't really allow for one. But I love them. That's why this case is pissing me off so much."

"You must see hundreds of murders a month and this case is really pissin' you off?" Jose said, almost laughing in disbelief.

"I may or may not like animals better than humans." Alex winked.

"Heard that. Jose looked down to his hands laced together on the table and scoffed. Alex smiled at the misunderstood teen.

"You're a good kid." She stated. "Don't lose that."

* * *

By nightfall, the team was just finishing up dinner while they hopelessly tried coming up with theories of who the unsubs were. Alex propped her tired head up on the heel of her palm, staring back and forth between her empty plate of food and the board containing graphic murder pictures and the sketch of the younger unsub.

"What?" JJ asked after stealing a glance to the unsettled fellow agent.

"Hard to believe we're able to eat while those are staring down our throats." Her chocolate brown eyes were gazing over the photographs of lifeless bodies. Reid stopped mid chew, looking at his chicken and then up to the board. He slowly pushed his plate away.

"So much for a dinner." He sadly stated. "Not a time to ask, JJ." He joked.

"Eat." Alex directed Reid. God knows he needed to. His skinny figure made her conscious of her own. Reid grimaced. "I'll get you a candy bar." She reasoned.

"Not sure what pictures you were talking about." Reid said with a smile. Alex rolled her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. She stood up to go venture out in the station for a vending machine, but was stopped by Morgan who entered the room on the phone.

"Go ahead, baby girl. Whatcha got?" He switched Garcia onto speaker phone.

"Ask and you shall receive! I widened my search and got a hit. Rudi Stein. He was finicky for hammering and chewing on hookers in New York. He was convicted in 89 but had a massive stroke in the 'Sing Sing' prison yard and died last July." Garcia announced.

"That M.O. is too similar to not be related but the timing is off. That was 20 years ago" Rossi reminded.

"What if the mentor got mentored himself?" Reid suggested.

"Reid's got a point. They could have met in prison and Stein taught the older unsub what got him in there." Alex believed.

"There's a reason they call it crime U." Rossi reminded.

"The death of Rudi Stein could have triggered him." Morgan added.

"Garcia, I need everything you got on Rudi Stein: cell mates, relatives, anything you can find." Hotch ordered. And with another quirky sign off, Garcia hung up the phone to continue her search. Knowing how quick Garcia worked, Alex exited the room and walked through the station with purpose until she found the vending machine. She stood in the dimly lit hallway staring at a variety of treats. As much as she was craving the bag of chips staring her down, she focused and thought about what Reid would be in the mood for. She reached into her jean pocked and produced a dollar bill, feeding it into the machine and pressing the buttons that would soon gift her a Milky Way bar. Once it fell into the opening of the vending machine, Alex snatched it up and returned back to the meeting room. She tossed Reid the bar, and he fumbled to catch it. His eyes lit up like a little kid once he, successfully, had it in his hands. Alex plopped back down in her seat.

"Thank you." He beamed. Just as Reid ripped open the packaging and took a hefty bite, Hotch's phone began ringing, no doubt to any of the team that it was Garcia.

"Sir, I've got something. From 2002 to 2006, Rudi Stein shared a work detail with a David Roy Turner. He's a Miami resident. Now, it must have been a match made in heaven, because they remained pen pals after Turner was released."

"What was Turner in for?" Rossi called

"He assaulted an underage male prostitute."

"Little boy lover, why am I not surprised?" Alex asked herself.

"You got an address?" Hotch asked, his facial features tensing by the minute.

"Uh, yeah, I already sent them. I got a home and two work addresses. Turner works as a groundskeeper for the Miami-Dade parks and rec, and he's also a part-time bartender." Garcia elaborated.

"Morgan, Kennedy, and Reid, take the residence. The rest of us will take the work address." Hotch mumbled before hastily leaving the room with JJ and Rossi tailing him. Reid heavily exhaled, wrapping up the rest of his candy bar.

"Morgan if you steal this..." He threatened. Morgan sarcastically rolled his eyes.

"I'm shaking." He joked. "You ready A.K?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She assured, standing up and following Reid out to the station's parking lot where the black Suburban awaited them.

"A.K?" Alex questioned Morgan as their steps fell in sync.

"Alex Kennedy, Agent Kennedy. Works either way." He smirked.

"So we're on a nickname basis now?" She asked with a smile. Morgan groaned, annoyed she had taken one little nickname so far. "Ah, so you can stand me. I thought I was 'stubborn and annoying'." Alex quipped, thinking back to their conversation earlier.

"Just put on the damn vest, Kennedy." Morgan ordered as him and Reid strapped on their bullet proof vests and secured their guns on their belts.

* * *

Morgan silently counted down on his fingers and then the sound of breaking wood echoed through the silent air as he kicked the door of Turner's home. Immediately, the team split up. Alex maneuvered herself through the dark to the master bedroom, her gun straight out in front of her and fingers hovering over the trigger. The bed was messy and the blind slats were left open.

"Clear!" Morgan yelled from the other side of the small house. With a racing heart, Alex opened the small closet doors and pushed away the clothing to see nothing but wall, piles of shoes, and a couple yellow shopping bags.

"Clear." She called back.

"Clear." Reid lastly assured. She came out of the room, meeting Reid in the hallway. She huffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

"No ones here." She realized. The two walked into the kitchen and met Morgan, who was skimming his flashlight around the room. He beamed the light on the kitchen table, which was filled with several old take out boxes, empty soda cans, and a laptop. Morgan walked over, opening the computer and then dialing Garcia on his cell.

"Hey good looking, I've got Turners laptop in front of me. Can you pull up anything off of it?" He questioned. After listening to Garcia for a moment, he powered up the laptop. While he did so, Alex beamed her flashlight around. She wandered into the office, immediately returning her gun into its holster. She walked over to the closet, opening it and beaming her flashlight down when something yellow caught her eye. She bent down and placed her flashlight in her mouth. She bit down on the the small handle while she grabbed gloves from her back pocket and put them on. Taking her flashlight back into her hands, she sifted through two heavy plastic bags filled with toys. She wondered if these were toys for the much younger boys he would molest. She peered inside, but the toys inside were anything but for kids. She pulled back the plastic bag and read the name on the side of it: Hal's Pet Shop.

Alex frowned at the realization Turner didn't have a pet. At least, none here at least. And the toys and bones were all brand new, stickers and tags on each one. She picked the bags up and placed them on the, thankfully cleaner than the kitchen table, desk.

"What's that?" Reid wondered, walking into the room to look around as well.

"Dog toys." She sounded stumped.

"That's weird, there's no dog here."

"I think there was some in the bedroom closet too." Alex remembered the yellow bags beside Turner's shoes. She hadn't thought anything of it at first, but now it got her speculating.

"I'll go check." Reid offered. While Reid went off to investigate her possible sighting, Alex rummaged through the bags. Bones, squeaky toys, tennis balls, plush animals…this guy had bought everything.

"There's bags in bags." Reid alerted, coming back into the room with bags in hand. The same Hal's logo caught Alex's eye…

"He bought them all from Hal's Pet Shop."

"Crime Scenes here taking inventory." Morgan alerted. "What's that?"

"Dog toys. All brand new from Hal's Pet Shop."

"Well there's definitely no dog here."

"There were already two closets filled with them. I'm going to check if there's more." Alex noted before disappearing off into the bedroom. She pointed her flash light inside night tables and dresser drawers only to come up with nothing. She felt defeated as she came up with nothing…that was until her flashlight pointed to the bed. She remembered finding playboy magazines under her brothers bed when she was younger, so what stopped Turner from putting these dog toys under there? Alex got down on her hands and knees and examined underneath the bed. She counted three dirty socks, an old candy wrapper, and a cardboard box labeled 'fragile'. She wormed herself farther underneath the bed and grabbed the box, quickly wiggling herself out before the smell of rotten socks caused her to pass out. She came out from underneath the bed to meet the eyes of an older crime scene investigator.

"Agent, do you need help?" He asked. Her cheeks reddened as he had probably watched her look like a snake as she fished for the box.

"No, no." She awkwardly smiled as she stood up, "I'm good." He nodded before going over to the closet and having himself a look around. Alex picked up the box, finding it to be heavier than she initially thought. She plopped it on the bed and opened up the cardboard flaps. No wonder the box was heavy; it was filled with books. Alex flashed the flashlights beam closer. No, they weren't books. They were scrapbooks. She filed through them, seeing them labeled with years.

"Bingo." She smiled, taking the box back into the office to show Morgan and Reid. "Scrapbooks. All the way back to 2006."

"That's the year Turner was released from prison. It could be a habit he picked up inside." Morgan informed. Alex picked up one scrapbook and Reid picked up another. The two of them flipped through the laminated pages with newspaper clippings glued inside.

"Traveling, sports, and looky here. Big fan of murder." Alex sarcastically laughed as she fell upon pages with cut outs from the crime section.

"These aren't' random. He has individual sections for each case." Reid informed, continuously flipping to another page. Alex grabbed the most recent scrapbook and opened up to a random page.

"And it gets better." She sighed deeply, staring at two lost dog fliers on each page. She continued flipping forward, and more and more would appear.

"So he was tracking the animal murders." Morgan shook his head in disgust. Alex was disgusted with this man.

"Uh hey, guys." Reid alerted, putting down his own scrapbook. Several happily posed photographs were pasted on the pages of a teenage boy and Turner.

"That looks like the sketch." Alex pointed out.

"And whoever it is, Turner's obsessed with him." Morgan had stepped out of the room, leaving Alex and Reid to continue sorting through the scrapbooks.

"Thanks sugar mama." Morgan hung up the phone and cleared his throat when he soon returned. "Toby Whitewood. Sophomore at McKinley High School. Garcia pulled his name up while searching through Turners phone records. And guess where he works."

"Hal's Pet Shop." Alex immediately answered, no doubt in her tone.

* * *

Garcia had forwarded Morgan Toby Whitewood's work address while she sent Hotch his residential. Morgan, closer to the pet shop, sped towards the shop until Garcia rung his phone.

"Two things. David Roy Turners father, who died 12 years ago, was a mechanic who owned a boat shop. But it's still in his name. And yes, I just sent you the address." Just as the words left Garcia's mouth, Alex's phone beeped. 8223 North River Drive. She pulled it up on the maps and handed the phone to Morgan, who quickly realized they were going the opposite direction.

"Hang on guys." He warned, swerving the car into a sharp U-turn. Reid and Alex grasped their surroundings as Morgan floored the gas.

"Morgan we can't get there if we're dead." Alex rang, her hands clawing at the leather seats.

"Have you ever died from my driving before?" He questioned. Alex groaned.

"Hello my lovelies, still here." Garcia reminded.

"Right. What was the second thing?" Alex asked.

"The manager at the pet store Toby works at was just reported missing by her fiancé. Her names Holly Regelio."

"He changed his preference to prostitutes to his boss?" Alex questioned. She knew that meant both Toby and Turner's M.O was rapidly changing.

"Prostitutes might have been practice for the girl he really wanted." Morgan thought.

* * *

Alex sat quietly in the back of the car as Morgan had just hung up the phone with Hotch. Him, Rossi, and JJ were at Toby's home and his mother was cooperating. She had told them that three years ago Toby and his sister were carjacked and taken to a secluded place. Toby watched his abductor rape his sister several times and then bludgeon her to death. But Toby was kept alive. Alex had suddenly felt bad. No wonder the kid was messed up, he never had a chance. Her feelings of remorse had stopped when the mother told Hotch that Toby admitted that he liked watching. That it aroused him. Alex's thoughts shifted: no wonder the kid was messed up, he never had a chance from birth. Morgan flew the SUV into the empty lot outside Turner's boat shed and the three of them stormed in, guns aimed and safety off. When they entered, Turner's arm was mid air with a crow bar latched in his hand, as he was mid hit to a blonde girl strapped to a chair.

"FBI. David Roy Turner put the weapon down." Morgan demanded. Alex quickly scanned her surroundings, from a genuinely shocked Turner, with blood dripping down the side of his head, to an unconscious Toby on the floor. Was he dead? The girl in the chair, Holly, her legs were blocking her view. Holly was alive. Injured, but alive. Her eyes flickered in between Turner and Toby.

"Reid." She whispered, hoping he was noticing Toby's body.

"I know." He answered back.

"Put it down." Alex demanded. He slowly let his arm drop to his side.

"I already been to prison." He spat. He raised his arm once again and swung to hit Holly. And just as she screamed for mercy, Morgan shot a bullet straight through Turner's head. He fell to the ground beside Toby. The three of them rushed forward, Reid going straight to Holly and Alex going straight to Toby to check for a pulse. She stopped short in her place.

She didn't have to; his eyes were wide open a lifeless.

* * *

With earplugs jammed in her ears, Alex sat on the couch across from Reid on the plane staring out at the black sky. It was the middle of the night, yet none of the team found themselves able to sleep from a mixture of tonight's events and too much coffee. Reid, oblivious to the outside world, was nose deep in his book while occasionally chewing on his candy bar. Ever so often, Alex's eyes would wander over to the doctor and wonder what he was reading about.

"So," Alex plucked her earphones out and set her phone aside, catching Reid's attention. "What does one wear to a softball game?"

"Couldn't tell you. Never been, never will." His lips formed a tight, emotionless line.

"Oh, come on. Why wont you come?" She frowned.

"Because," he swallowed his fear, "if I end up having to play I'm going to make a fool of myself. I'm not good at sports." Reid's reasoning unsettled Alex.

"Reid," she sat forward, "I hate to break it to you, but you're good at everything. And if softball isn't your thing, so what? It's just a game, it's not life and death. It is supposed to be fun, you know." She chuckled.

"I don't know." Reid averted his gaze from Alex's.

"Come on, even if you don't play, don't you want to see Morgan's ass get kicked by secret service?" She smiled at the thought.

"Sorry," Reid said. There was a pause, his self confidence wrestled with his self doubt. "I really don't think so, sorry." Alex noticed his avoiding gaze. She felt defeated knowing she did as much as she could, and it saddened her. This game was supposed to be fun, not a painful reminder to Reid that his lack of athletic ability was yet another thing that made him different from the rest of the team. Alex's stomach ached as it continuously reminded Reid that he'd embarrass himself.

"I get it; just know you have nothing to be embarrassed about." Alex quietly reminded. She took up from her seat as she felt this was the perfect time for a date with the coffee machine. "I'll still hope to see you there." She half smiled and finally walked away, leaving Reid to his thoughts. His eyes trailed up as he contemplated Alex's words. They finally trailed back down.

Alex walked past a weary Hotch, who smiled to her before turning back to look out the window. Across from him, Rossi was lulling to sleep. Alex took herself into the alcove and positioned herself at the coffee machine. She grabbed a cup and her fingers ran over the buttons to brew hot water. She rummaged through the drawers, listening to the quiet ringing of Hotch's phone on the other side of the wall.

"This is Agent Hotchner." He answered just as she picked out a green tea bag. Finally, the water brewed in Alex's cup and she dropped her tea bag in, satisfied and ready to go back to her seat.

"What is it?" Asked Rossi, reluctance in his voice. She had never heard Rossi sound like that. It was almost as if he was nervous. Alex stopped herself from going back to her seat and instead, she listened.

"Dallas PD just discovered an unidentified male body…with the mouth sewn shut." Hotch revealed. Alex's brows knitted into a tight line, fear and confusion crossing her features. The silencer? He was dead. Alex saw him die right in front of her. She had the blood stains to prove it at the time

"Like the silencer." Rossi realized, voicing her thoughts. "He's dead. It's obvious a copy cat." The lack of assurance in Rossi's voice was perturbing.

"Dallas divisions into it. They said they'll keep us in the loop."

* * *

Four o'clock the next day, Alex found herself sitting on the bleachers at the Buffolino Field while the FBI and Secret Service teams practiced before the start of their game. Wind blew back stray pieces of hair that failed to stay in her side braid. She took in a deep breath of the air; it was the perfect weather for the perfect day. The team had off the next day to compensate for their shorten weekend. Alex had woken up that morning in bliss, being able to sleep in on a Wednesday was foreign to her. The only thing that would make it better would be Reid appearing. She had texted the entire team inviting them to the game, she was sure deep down Reid would have shown up. But the closer and closer it got to first pitch, she knew she was wrong. She finally stopped watching Morgan and looked down to her white converse clad feet. She anxiously tapped them against the ground, feeling beyond stupid that she'd have an ounce of believe she'd change Reid's mind.

"Why are you sitting alone?" Alex lurched her head up to see Reid walking towards her, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dress pants. She broke out in a toothy smile.

"I thought you weren't coming." He shrugged at her reply.

"I had someone convince me. She did a pretty good job at it." Alex stood up.

"Hey pretty boy! You made it! I like that!" Morgan happily cried while jogging over to the fence with a smile across his face. "Did you bring a glove?"

"A glove? I don't own shorts." Reid chuckled.

"Don't even worry about it kid, I got an extra one. Tyson's wife? Had her baby last night. So today is your day to play second base." Morgan pointed to the field. Reid paled.

"What? I can't play second base." Reid disagreed, his fear starting up again.

"Oh, yes you can! You're gonna!" Morgan disagreed, still wearing a smile. Reid panicked.

"What did I say? Just a game." Alex reminded, taking her own Bureau baseball cap she had on and placing it on Reid.

"But—" Alex put her hand up to stop Reid from talking.

"Stop worrying about it and go have fun." She stated. Reid opened his mouth to protest but instead swallowed back his fear.

"Go team!" The unmistakable voice of Garcia cried. Reid turned his head to see the rest of the team, plus Jack and Henry, coming up to meet them.

"What are you guys doing here?" He wondered.

"Oh, we were not going to miss this." JJ chuckled as Henry hung off of her.

"Someone had to invite us." Rossi nodded to Alex. Reid turned to Alex.

"Can't be embarrassed around your family." She grinned, the word foreign to her. She had never admitted before the BAU was more of a family than she'd ever had. It was times like these that made her realize it more than ever.

"That is debatable."

"So, secret service, huh?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, we haven't beaten these chumps in five years."

"They have nothing to do but practice!" Rossi cried.

"And party." Garcia added, ruffling Alex's hat on Reid's head.

"Come on, kid. Let's get out there and kick some secret service butt." Morgan coxed. Reid reluctantly looked around before Alex gave him the initial physical push.

"Go already!" And with that, Reid finally got onto the field and Morgan was pulling him away.

"Where's your hat?" Garcia frowned. She had gotten the entire team hats for the event.

"On the field. Reid left his at home."

"But you need a hat with that. It goes with your outfit. You look like the queen of baseball!" Garcia exclaimed, overlooking Alex's navy and white baseball tee and her jean shorts.

"Good thing I'm not a hat person." Rossi smirked before taking his own cap off and placing it on Alex's head.

The team made themselves comfortable on the bleachers and eagerly watched as the game began. Morgan was first up to the plate and he successfully hit the ball the first pitch it was thrown. Morgan made it to second place. Next up, was Reid. It was his first time at the plate this game and there was no denying even from the stands he was nervous. Alex watched him reluctantly choose a bat and head up to the plate. She silently laughed to herself at how ridiculous he looked in his chinos and dress shirt compared to everyone else. The pitcher tossed the ball and Reid swung too early.

"Come on, Spence!" JJ yelled. Beside her, Henry clapped his little hands. Reid missed again. And again.

"You're out." The umpire called. Defeated, Reid walked away. His sad, puppy dog eyes looked at Alex, who tried to keep him positive with a thumbs up. Alex recognized the next player to be a BAU member from across the hall. He struck the ball on the second try and the second it hit the air, Morgan sprinted.

"Come on, Derek. Let's go kid." Rossi called. And with that, Morgan scored the first point. The team stood up and cheered.

* * *

The ninth inning came fast and furious. The Bureau was losing to the secret service by one run, and their chances of winning were slim. Morgan had just made it to second base once again and Reid was grabbing another bat. He tried twirling it in his hands, only to fumble and drop it. He ran up to the plate and positioned himself while Derek cheered him on.

"Hey, this guy can't hit! Bring it in! All the way in!" One of the secret service members called. Reid's shoulders slumped in humiliation and he hid his face. Alex's jaw dropped and she shot up.

"You want to bet on that? Ten bucks he's better than you!" Alex shouted. Seeing Reid's reaction to the secret service guys call, Morgan motioned for a time out. Alex watched him go over to Reid like the unofficial big brother he was and give him a pep talk. The talk ended with Reid offering Morgan a smile, so Alex figured it had gone well. With that, Reid went back to his position on the plate and Morgan went back to second base. Alex still stood up in the stands, her nervousness making it impossible for her to sit down. The ball was pitched and Reid had missed it once again.

"Come on! Kick their ass…" Alex paused as Hotch looked over to her, down to Jack, and back up to Alex. "…ets!" She yelled.

"Drive 'em in baby! Come on!" Rossi shouted as another ball was thrown. The team sighed as Reid missed once more.

"This guys got nothing!" The same arrogant secret service agent mocked. Alex growled, wishing nothing more than going onto the field and punching the guy. How could he hit Reid when he was already down?

"Come on, Spence!" JJ repeatedly cheered as the last pitch was about to be thrown. The pitcher threw it hard and Reid swung, the bat hitting the ball echoing through everyone's ears.

"Oh my God!" Alex squealed as she realized he had hit the ball far. The rest of the team cheered. She watched Reid gaze at the ball flying through the air. "Run!" She screamed. "Go! Run!" The rest of the team did the same as they shot up in their seats and cheered. Reid took off in a sprint around the diamond. Morgan had made the home run, but no one noticed as all eyes were on Reid.

"Go! Go!" Alex screamed, her heart racing as the other team picked up the ball. Reid had just run through third base.

"Get down! Get down!" Morgan demanded. Without another thought of hesitation, Reid dove for the last base. He slid across the clay and scored another point for Quantico, causing the Bureau to win the game.

"Yes!" Alex screamed, jumping up in the air and clapping her hands. Morgan pulled Reid off the ground and engulfed him in a tight hug. As Alex cheered along with the rest of the team, she smiled. The smile Reid had on his face was bigger than she'd ever seen. The rest of the Bureau softball team cheered and huddled Reid, throwing him up in the air and carrying him around. As Morgan exited the gates with the rest of the softball team carrying Reid, he encountered his own team cheering him on. Finally put down, Reid came over to the team with a mile-wide smile.

"Told you!" Alex happily cheered, jumping into a hug. JJ watched, waiting for Reid to immediately back away since he hated hugs, but without much hesitation, he melted into Alex's embrace.

"Proud of you kid!" Rossi cheered. After their embrace had finished, Henry came over to hug his god father. Morgan finally walked over wearing the same smile Reid did. Alex jumped on his back, tightly embracing him from behind.

"May not have seen your ass get kicked but it was well worth it." She laughed.

"I'll get you for that later." He threw his head back and laughed. The team continued to cheer and laugh, praising Reid's big moment.

* * *

 **A/N: Not a lot of reviews on the last chapter so im super disappointed but I've been writing away so I wanted to get this up. Please, please review. Would love comments, thoughts, theories of future chapters.**


	9. Home Sweet Home

Chapter Nine:

Home Sweet Home

Chapter Song: Goner by Twenty-One Pilots (Ending Scene)

* * *

The morning had gone surprisingly well for Alex. She had managed to accidentally sleep in, but rush enough that she got to the office on time. Though, she did have to settle for home brewed coffee much to her displeasure. She had really been craving a hot brew from her favorite coffee shop down the street from her apartment ever since she got back from a case in Seattle two days ago. The elevator doors dinged open, allowing Alex to step out onto the sixth floor which she had now labeled home. She tossed her empty coffee cup into the silver trash can beside her and continued her way into the office. She had felt a sense of freeness as she walked in. After a long phone conversation with JJ last night, she had been assured there was no case today. And as much as Alex hated paperwork instead of being out in the field, she found it comforting to stay in the office after being on the run so much the last few weeks.

Alex's nostrils tickled at the smell of fresh coffee, she knew there was no doubt Reid had brewed a fresh pot. He usually did whenever she was last to the office. She walked past the mazes of desks, spotting JJ and Reid himself huddled beside his desk talking to a man who, by the looks of his clothes, wasn't an agent. As she got closer and finally heard the mans voice, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Do you know where I can find Alex Kennedy?" She knew that voice all too well. Her brows furrowed together in confusion, _there was no way_. JJ and Reid had looked up from speaking to the stranger to look at Alex, and he didn't fail to notice. He turned around to face her.

"Hey Al." He wore a nervous smile. JJ and Reid looked from him to their fellow agent, who's confused face contorted to a mixture of that and anger. Alex found herself searching for the words but she couldn't find herself to speak any. Instead, she silently groaned and stormed forward. She grabbed the man by the forearm and hastily dragged him out into the lobby.

"Caleb, what are you doing here?" She accusingly asked while shooting him an angry stare.

"Can we talk?" His tone was urgent yet composed, still Alex didn't seem to care. She rolled her eyes and barked a sarcastic laugh of disbelief.

"Do I have a choice?" The well trimmed beard that framed his face and lips reminded Alex that it had been years since her and Caleb last spoke, since they last saw each other. It angered her even more. She had no intentions of listening to whatever he had to say. It was too late for apologies.

"I need your help." He admitted. Alex immediately scoffed. He needed her help? Was hell freezing over? He was probably desperate. He probably needed money.

"I'm sure you can get by without me. And couldn't have this waited until I got off? Who even let you in here?" She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her face in a permanent scowl.

"I need you and your teams help." Caleb elaborated, causing Alex to lighten up. If Caleb came here desperate enough to ask Alex for help, whatever was going on was bad. She didn't want to ask.

"My team? You are joking, right?" He sadly shook his head. Alex quickly dismissed Caleb's request. "I'm sure the department can handle it."

"They haven't done anything." He disagreed.

"If it's that bad, they'll call us in."

"It's been two months. Five murders. Two over the past two weeks." Alex froze. Murders? No, Caleb had to be confused. Murders didn't happen in Summit. Other towns? Sure, but not Summit. "Five girls, Alex." Caleb repeated, stressing the importance of how he needed them to come in. A pause overcame the two as the newfound information sunk into Alex.

"You need to tell me everything, first." She sighed.

* * *

As Caleb explained to Alex about the recent murders, they unknowingly had a small group watching them like hawks. JJ, Reid, and now Garcia were trying to make out their conversation from across the office.

"Definitely an ex boyfriend." JJ decided. Garcia nodded in agreement.

"Boyfriend?" Reid repeated the toxic word.

"Who would ever break up with a hunk of that?" Garcia suggestively rose her brows.

"He's not that bad." JJ agreed. "I think she could do better."

"Aren't we jumping to conclusions here?" Reid tried dismissing, watching his frustrated brunette coworker intently.

"Who else would come to her work looking desperate? He's probably asking for her back!" Garcia fantasized.

"Doesn't seem like it's going well." JJ grimaced. Nearby, Rossi walked out of his office and stared at the three onlookers. He followed their gaze to see an angry Alex talking with a stranger in the lobby. He ventured over to his three nosey agents.

"Who's he?" Rossi asked, a pile of paperwork in his hands.

"Mystery man." Garcia rang seductively. Rossi rose one of his thick brows.

"Are you spying?" He judgingly eyed the two girls and Reid.

"Psh…no." JJ waved off.

"We're observing." Garcia corrected, but quickly added, "for her benefit!"

"Right…" Rossi ignored. "Theories?" He jumped on the staring wagon.

"Ex boyfriend!" Garcia squealed. JJ threw her thumb over to Garcia and nodded.

"I wonder what they're talking about." JJ mused. "Reid, try getting closer."

"Why me?" He exclaimed.

"I swear there is no such thing as privacy with you three." Rossi shook his head and quietly chuckled.

"Ooh! They're coming! Act like you're doing something!" Garcia cried, frantically grabbing a folder from Rossi and opening it.

"And in conclusion, I agree with your statements on the" Garcia squinted her eyes as she read the paper, "Biological Positivism versus the Social Structure theory…is this for a new book?" She ended in a whisper. Alex and the mystery man walked past them, Alex eyeing the group as if she saw they had been spying.

"I think she noticed." Rossi winked and reached forward. "And none of your business, Penelope." He took back his folder and walked away.

Alex and Caleb walked past the group and up onto the platform where Hotch's office was. "Were those your coworkers?" Caleb asked, motioning back to the group of four Alex had just eyed down.

"Not your business." She impassively answered. The two finally reached Hotch's door and Alex felt a tight lump form in her throat. The door was cracked open an inch and through it, she could see Hotch reviewing paperwork and writing notes. It wasn't Alex's job to tell Hotch what cases to take. So how could she tell him that this was something they needed to look into? Hotch wasn't like the others. As much as Alex liked him, she was still scared of him. It was her boss after all. Swallowing her fear, she knocked on the door.

"Come in." He said, not taking his eye off his paperwork. Alex pushed the door open and Hotch looked up to greet her.

"Alex, what can I do for you?" He put his pen down. She stepped forward once more, leaving Caleb by the door.

"Can I talk to you?" The unusually calm Hotch became serious in an instant. "I know it's your final decision, but there's something we really need to look into." She stated with as much confidence as possible. He nodded and his eyes trailed from Alex to the stranger standing at the back of his office. "He kind of needs to be here for this."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" He asked.

"This is Caleb." Alex paused. "My brother."

* * *

Hotch listened carefully to every detail Caleb Kennedy laid out and in no time, he found himself calling the police department of Summit, New Jersey. He was shocked the chief hadn't called to request the BAU, that a kid who wasn't even an officer—only close with some—had been the one to alert them of the murders. One murder was too much—but five? Now that angered Hotch.

"Conference in five." He told Alex and walked out to alert the rest of the team. Alex stared at her exasperated brother. It had been four years, four long years, since they last spoke. Alex was twenty-two at the time, Caleb twenty-six. Caleb, now thirty, looked and acted the same as he did those four years ago. Alex may have missed four years, but nothing had changed.

"Where should I go?" He asked as they walked out of Hotch's office together.

"Home?" She offered. "I don't know. Just not with me. Hotch will get you if he needs you."

"Listen, Alex, I know we haven't talked in a while—"

"And who's fault is that?" She rebutted.

"I just wanted to thank you for hearing me out."

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have an option." Alex mumbled, walking away from Caleb and into the bull pen where everyone was getting seated. Hotch fell into step beside her, reading the documents Summit PD had faxed over.

"Are you sure you want to be on this case? I'm more than willing to take you off."

"I'll be fine, sir." Alex flatly answered.

"I thought we didn't have a case." Morgan quietly mused to Reid, who sat beside him.

"Change of plans." Alex muttered, walking past them and to her seat.

"Garcia, did you get—"

"Already ahead of you, sir!" She finished, putting up the documents SPD sent. Hotch cleared his throat to speak.

"Summit, New Jersey. Over the course of two months, Kerri Hudgins, Claire Chatham, and Olivia Gibbons were all found dead." He pulled up the pictures of the girls. "All were found with tape residue over their mouths, bruising on their necks, cuts on their bodies, and ligature marks. Hudgins died from a shot to the head while Chatham was stabbed nine times. Gibbons was shot and stabbed."

"Different hair colors and different ages. Kerri was 24, while Claire and Olivia were 17 and 20." Reid mused.

"Was there evidence of sexual assault?" JJ asked.

"Yes." Hotch immediately said. "That's not all. Jennifer Price, 27, and Aubrey Muller, 25, both were found dead in the past two weeks. Same M.O. Gun shot and stabbing wounds on both victims this time." Alex felt her breath hitch in her lungs. Both Jennifer Price and Aubrey Muller had been in her grade. They had graduated together. Crime scene photos were pulled up and Alex's face paled as if she saw a ghost. On the right was Jennifer Price, a stab wound in her shoulder and bullet wound in the side of her temple. Her black locks were tangled and stuck to her bloody and bruised neck. One of her arms was positioned above her head while the other laid by her side.

"Aubrey Muller put up a struggle. There's bruising and scratching at her ankles. She was shot in the back of the head." Her eyes trailed to Aubrey's picture to see mostly the same. Her auburn hair was dyed scarlet with her own blood. She could remember seeing Aubrey in the hallways of her high school. They had lockers across from each other. No, they had never been friends. But seeing someone on the screens that Alex knew was a whole different feeling than seeing a dead stranger. Alex had forgotten to breathe. She shakily let the breath wedged in her throat out. Reid took notice but in no time, Alex warped herself to be still as stone while staring at the brutal pictures. She swallowed hard, silently wishing the pictures would disappear along with the nausea settling in her stomach. And like a God answering her prayers, Hotch turned the screens off.

"They were all found on different days. Though, they were all found early the next morning. They all would disappear the night before."

"So the guy has a day job." Morgan figured.

"He clearly has no preferences. Just whoever he can get his hands on first." JJ thought.

"And he doesn't keep them long for torturing. Very interesting." Reid commented. "He only takes them a few hours it looks like. So what is the…" Alex's eyes trailed from a speaking Reid to the bullpen window where Caleb was sitting on top of her desk playing with a rubber band. Seeing him again, even in his best light mood wise, after all these years was a heavy hit.

She had lost Caleb the night she had lost her dad. For years, it took a lot not think about him every day, to think of how he could leave his sister behind so thoughtlessly. But, it was almost impossible. And just when she thought she had recovered, Caleb managed to pop back into her life. Alex still woke up from time to time aching over the loss of her father and her brother. Though Caleb hadn't been in the crash that day, she had lost him. She could still hear his panic-stricken voice yelling at her that _she_ was the reason their father had fallen asleep at the wheel and drove his car off the road and into the Passaic River—that _she_ killed him. After all, he was right. Alex was responsible. She had flown in from school and didn't have enough money for a cab. It was midnight and her father had been tired from a case at work. Alex had begged him to drive the thirty minutes to Newark, and he had selflessly agreed. Needless to say she never did get picked up by him that night and she was guilt-ridden ever since. Over the years she had finally found the will to forgive herself, but now that Caleb was here it was a painful reminder of that which once was.

"Did they just call this in? I didn't have anything about this on my desk." JJ shook her head in disbelief that she hadn't heard of this yet. Alex kicked herself out of her day dream.

"No, they didn't call it in at all. I requested for the team to come." JJ's perfectly sculpted brows formed a tight line at Hotch's answer.

"How'd you find out?"

"You may have met the man here earlier. He informed us."

"And who is this dude? What do we even know on him? Is he a credible source? I mean, the police didn't even call this in." Morgan questioned, knowing that Reid had been aggravated by the mystery man and his unknown connection to Alex.

"Caleb Kennedy." Hotch answered. And just like that, all eyes were on Alex. She averted her gaze and slumped back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

"My brother." She sighed.

"Wheels up in thirty." Hotch announced before they had time to audibly react. The team, some confused and some relieved, dispersed to grab their go bags.

"Alex, will you please tell Caleb to get his things? I'd like him to be traveling with us." He said as he headed out the door. Alex's eyes bulged. _Traveling with them_?

"What? No!" She disagreed, immediately following him. "Hotch. He can't come with us."

"He's been closest to the case and I would like to know every detail he knows, even if he thinks he doesn't know anything. Talking with him on the plane would be best."

"But, he can't." She argued, refusing to let Caleb infiltrate the plane.

"Alex. I said he's coming with us." He strictly replied, the serious features on his face causing Alex to step down from her argument. She groaned in utter defeat, closing her eyes and running a hand through her hair as she felt a Caleb induced headache coming on.

"When's the last time you two talked?" Hotch asked, catching her off guard. Was Hotch even allowed to ask questions like this about her personal life? "You two are estranged." Hotch knew from experience what estranged sibling's looked and felt like. This just wasn't two siblings that didn't like each other. The way Alex spoke with and about Caleb in Hotch's office was like talking to a stranger.

"Four years." She admitted, thinking about how good of a profiler Hotch was.

"I've been there. I am there." He put a hand on his youngest agent's shoulder, seeing her frustration. She refused to make eye contact with Hotch. Instead, she looked across the room to Caleb.

"Okay." Alex sighed, walking her way to Caleb. "Get your things, your coming with us on the jet." She emotionlessly informed as she walked past.

"Really?"

"Just get your things." She called back.

* * *

Caleb had oohed and aahed from the moment he stepped foot on the jet. He had never been in first class, let alone a private plane, and he marveled around until Alex had told him to ' _sit down before you break anything'_. Once in the air and Caleb was sitting on one of the couches away from the team, they had briefed more information with Garcia and gone over theories of whoever this reckless, disorganized killer could be. Once the meeting was over, Alex unwillingly sat herself on the couch across from Caleb to make sure he didn't do or say anything stupid.

"Sweet hangs, sis." He commented to break the thick silence. Alex looked up from her phone, stared at Caleb for a moment, and went back to playing _Angry Birds_. She had fought the urge to make a scene of listing all the reasons he had no right to call her ' _sis'_. But, her team and her boss were on board so she didn't want to make a bigger fool out of herself than she already did. Though, even if she wasn't going to make a scene, she still had planned to continue giving him a hard time. She wouldn't let him have his four years of radio silence and then act that all was well and ok. Finally, before Caleb could get in another word, Morgan and Reid walked over to do their interview Hotch instructed.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Spencer Reid and this is Agent Derek Morgan. It's nice to meet you, uh, Mr. Kennedy." Reid stammered.

"You can call him Caleb. Or asshole." Alex corrected, finally looking up from her phone with a satisfied smile when she got silence as a reply. Caleb shook off his sisters comment and looked over to Reid.

"Doctor, huh? You look to young to be a doctor."

"I've actually been a doctor since twenty-two." Reid noted.

"We've got some questions for you. Just an overview of everything to get us informed, really." Morgan sat himself down on the arm of Alex's couch.

"Shoot, agents." Caleb leaned back into the chair.

"Well, what caused you to finally come to us?" Reid started.

"My girlfriend was attacked." He stated. Alex choked on a sarcastic laugh, having all their heads turn to her.

"Is there a problem, Alex?" Caleb asked.

"Just wondering how you tricked some poor girl into dating you." She stifled her laugh.

"For your information, women love me. And Jessica's the one who came onto me." He retorted, eyes narrow and ready to attack.

"Jessica? Jessica Hall?" Caleb nodded, causing Alex to grimace. "Of course. You did always have a thing for blonde bimbos." Morgan and Reid watched the two, eyes darting from one sibling to the other like they were in a tennis match. Caleb leaned forward.

"She's brunette now." He smirked. Alex dramatically rolled her eyes and went back to her phone. Caleb knew how to get under Alex's skin, and he was doing a pretty good job of it.

"Caleb," Morgan caught his attention once more. "can you tell us about what happened?"

"It was late and Jessica was coming over after she got off work. She told me that she got out of her car and was walking up to the front door when someone hit her from behind. I heard screaming and I rushed outside to see some guy choking her. I forgot to leave the lights on in the front so I guess the dude didn't know anyone was home. He was caught off guard and looked up and Jess managed to pepper spray him. She keeps some on her keys. By the time I got off the front step he was running away and disappeared through the neighbor's bushes. There was no way I could have caught up to him."

"Did you get a good look at his face?" Reid immediately asked.

"I didn't get a look at all. It was too dark with the freaks hood. It was definitely a man though. White."

"Did Jessica get a look?"

"She saw stars. She barely could make me out."

"Where is she now?"

"Philadelphia. She left town after she was done talking to the cops."

"Good to know." Morgan sighed.

"Do you know about the other murders or do I have to go into those too?"

"Summit PD sent us all the information." Morgan assured.

"Good, about time they did something."

"Were you ever an officer? You seem very close with the department, especially to know some of the information you gave Hotch." Reid wondered.

"No, they're family friends. I guess you can say law enforcement runs in the family." Caleb shrugged, eyeing Alex. Alex peaked up through her lashes, praying her brother would shut his mouth before going into detail. "Listen, your team doesn't know Summit like Alex and I do. This doesn't happen. Twenty-thirty miles out? Sure. But not Summit. The most action we've ever had was a break in. Not even armed. It's your typical all American small suburban town. Murder, especially serial, isn't in its vocabulary."

"He's right." Alex shyly agreed.

"We know. And that's why we're coming to get this guy."

* * *

The memories came flooding back. Like the gates of a broken dam, they had surged around and inundated Alex. Familiar houses and people past her by while the black SUV roamed the streets of Summit. The memories were suffocating. She had played on the same streets, walked down them more times than she could remember. After death loomed so close to her, she never thought she'd come back to see them. It's not like she was even welcomed to. Of all places in the world to go, she couldn't figure out why Caleb had chosen to stay. Morgan pulled the SUV against the sidewalk in front of the large, two story colonial styled house. The white wood panel façade looked freshly painted, something Alex noted Caleb must have done in the past couple years. The front door had been renovated from a navy to an expresso. Also done in the past year or so. Without a word, Alex exited the car and stood at the sidewalk. Her eyes gazed up and down the straight pathway leading to the front door. Caleb had re-done that too. Last time she saw it, the cement had been cracking. The lawn on each side of her had been kept spotless, not a grass blade out of place. Except in one spot. Halfway up, the grass beside the sidewalk had been messed up. _Maybe where the unsub attacked his girlfriend_ , Alex thought.

"So, this is where the famous A.K grew up." Morgan mused while coming up the walkway. Caleb and Reid trailed back behind.

"Yeah." She answered, her anger and sadness disappearing and turning into a heart wrenching nostalgia.

"You okay, kid?" He asked. She had no time to answer.

"So, is this where you found Jessica?" Reid asked as him and Caleb finally walked up.

"Yup." Caleb answered, popping his 'p'. Reid turned around to look at the homes across the street.

"He could have disappeared in no time." Morgan thought. Reid continued looking around, the wheels in his mind turning over and over.

"There's plenty of places to hide. The bushes, behind other cars…he was definitely stalking her." He paused. "Where were the other victims taken from?"

"All fairly residential areas. Leaving a house party, a bar a few blocks down, stuff like that." Caleb answered.

"I don't think it's an opportunity kill. He's stalking these girls before he kills them."

"Now that you've all established this guy is holy hell crazy, what's next?" Caleb wondered.

"We analyze every little part of the murders. Find out the guys age, why he started killing…" Reid informed.

"We do our thing; you do your thing." Alex modified.

"If you ask me—" Caleb started.

"We didn't." Alex quickly cut him off as she walked away to enter her childhood home.

* * *

The inside had stayed the same. Sure, Caleb had retouched the paint and fixed nicks here and there, but still the same. Alex looked around at the walls that were barren of family pictures. She rolled her eyes and sighed disappointedly. _Figures_. Knowing Morgan and Reid were close behind, she wasted no time. She climbed the stairs, her heart pounding as she thought of her old bedroom. Just as she wondered if the seventh step still creaked, she stepped on it and out came the screech. _Just like the old days_. She entered the second floor and directly went to her old bedroom. She froze outside the closed door, seeing a picture framed beside it. It photographed an eighteen-year-old Alex, twenty-three-year-old Caleb, and their father dressed in his police uniform. Alex, to the left of her father, donned a white graduation cap and a bright smile. Caleb, to the right, laughed and beamed like Alex had failed to see in the past four years. She unwittingly smiled, remembering that day—her high school graduation day—like it was yesterday. They had been so happy, so excited.

 _And look where you are now._

She moved on before any more memories had their chance at eating her emotional wall. Her hands landed on the gold, dusty door knob of her childhood bedroom. She pushed it open, hoping with all her might Caleb hadn't turned it into a gym or storage closet. She felt relieved to see the same bedroom she had left at twenty-two laid out in front of her. But there were boxes. Piles of boxes stuffed into corners. She didn't have to read the labels twice to know they belonged to their late father's office. She took a step inside, an overwhelming sense of deja vu taking over. It smelled stuffy, as if Caleb hadn't stepped foot in the room in years. Realistically, he probably hadn't.

"Hey." Reid's shy voice caused her to turn around.

"Hi." She recomposed herself.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yup. Just…checking things out."

"You know, feeling like this is completely normal when you come home. The olfactory section of the brain creates those feelings. It happens to me every time I go home too." Reid explained.

"Right." She replied with a masked smile.

"When's the last time you went home?" He asked.

"Uh, it's been a while."

"Kennedy, Reid! We've got a case to solve sometime this week." Morgan called from downstairs. After the two left the bedroom, Alex closed the door but not without one last look. Reid and her descended down the stairs, meeting with Morgan and Caleb, who had opened himself a beer. Alex stared at him, silently wondering if he was serious to crack a cold one open when it was barely noon.

"If I can help out with anything else, let me know." He nodded to Morgan.

"Will do." He agreed.

"Alex, you're more than welcome to stay here tonight." Caleb offered. Alex blinked, wondering if he was for real. Her lips formed a tight line.

"I'll pass." She turned on her heel and walked out of the house. While walking down the pathway that lead to the sidewalk, Alex's own thoughts consumed her. She had hardly noticed the man walking his beagle. He paused as he walked beside the SUV, doing a double take to the federal plates and police lights.

"Excuse me," he called to catch her attention, "is everything all right here?"

"Yes, sir." She stated. He noticed the gun at Alex's hip.

"Are you an officer?" He wondered.

"FBI." She shortly answered.

"You're FBI?" He asked in disbelief. Alex flashed her badge. "Is this—Alexandra Kennedy? Wow, I haven't heard that name in years. You grew up! The last time I saw you had to be, what, 2007? 08?" Alex looked closely at the aging mans face.

"Mr. Clark, I'm so sorry. I didn't recognize you."

"Please, call me Harrison. What are you doing in town? Are you just visiting or is this about the murder of those girls?" He wondered.

"I'm here on business so…" She trailed off. Harrison sadly nodded, his eyes falling down to his beagle.

"Such a shame about those girls. God help them."

"Do you still live—"

"Three doors down?" He laughed, finishing Alex's inquiry. "No, I downsized after Barb left. Still down the street though, just right on Hobart."

"I'm sorry about Barbra."

"Don't sweat it. It was a while ago." He shrugged. "Anything I can do to make your job easier? You look stressed, kiddo."

"If you still lived on this street maybe but, for now no." His graying brows furrowed as he watched Morgan and Reid exit the home.

"Did something happen over here?"

"Yeah, at the house."

"Here? Is your brother alright?"

"Well, it was his girlfriend, and she's doing ok, so he's great."

"Oh! I thought the poor soul was…well, you know. I'm glad she's ok. Caleb as well." He said just as the dog began pulling. "Buddy here gets impatient really quickly. Give your brother my regards, it was great seeing you again, Alexandra."

"You too." She smiled as he walked away.

"Who was that?" Morgan asked as he and Reid approached.

"Old neighbor." Alex shrugged. Morgan's phone beeped and he whipped it out.

"I thought we were going to wait for the watch officer, but Hotch called him off."

"Why?" Reid gaped. "You don't think he's going to try to come back?"

"I doubt it." Alex interjected. The three of them entered the car and shut the doors behind them.

"This was his first unsuccessful kill, though." Reid reminded.

"Jessica is out of the town and it's the one place he got caught. I'm sure he'll try killing again, but not where Caleb caught him." Alex explained.

"I'm with female Kennedy on this one. This guy is a coward." Morgan agreed.

"Are Hotch and the rest at the station?" She wondered.

"Looks like they're done with the crime scenes and at the morgue. He wants us to go set up."

* * *

Morgan, Reid, and Alex walked into the brick building. To the two men, it was just another police station in the country they could notch off their list. To Alex, it was a former home. Though it was filled with unfamiliar faces and layouts, it still smelled the same—like coffee and hand sanitizer. They still kept the thermostat way down. Even in the winter, when the station got too hot, you could smell the must from the vents they so rarely cleaned. Alex kept quiet, her nerves getting the best of her. She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked around the lobby, hoping she'd get into the back quietly.

"I'm guessing you're the ones they sent from the BAU." A woman with cropped red hair came over to greet herself.

"That's us." Morgan nodded. "Agents Morgan, Kennedy, and Doctor Reid."

"Kennedy?" The woman's brows had knitted together, her head cocked in interest. "Are you Phil's kid?" And with that, all Alex's hopes of getting into the back unnoticed abandoned her.

"Yeah." She nodded sheepishly, hoping her fellow agents weren't listening in on small talk. The red heads eyes brightened.

"I'm Deb. I'm sorry for your loss—"

"Thanks." She quickly dismissed. "Um, is it okay if we get set up in there? I know where to go."

"Right ahead, sweetheart." Deb nodded. Alex continued forward, leaving a confused Morgan and Reid in her trails.

"Is it just me, or is Kennedy closed up as a turtle about her personal life right now?" Morgan whispered to Reid. He shrugged.

"Maybe she doesn't like talking about it."

"When did she lose her dad?" Morgan figured Alex and Reid had spoken about it before.

"You're asking me like I know." Reid shrugged once more.

Alex walked herself through the large station, something she used to do as a teen, until a familiar face stopped her in her place. He did a double take, much like everyone seemed to be doing. She weakly smiled.

"Alexandra!" The gray haired man engulfed her in a hug. Her stiffness loosened at George's touch, but not for long. She kept her guard up. "I can't believe I'm seeing you again! And look at you! What in the hell are you doing here?" She could still hear the slight Texas twang in his voice, reminding her of when George had first come to the station all the way from Dallas and became her dads partner. Morgan and Reid stared at each other as they stopped.

"I'm here on assignment, actually."

"You're the big shot people that got called in from the FBI?"

"Only a fifth. Sixth if you count our tech analyst back in Quantico." She quietly chuckled. George stared at her in disbelief.

"I can't believe you work for the FBI. I didn't know! Your—" She knew where the conversation was headed so she cut him off.

"Hey guys? You can go right through there and catch up." She told the agents behind her with a plastered smile. "I'll catch up with you." Glancing at each other, Morgan and Reid sighed and did as Alex instructed.

"Sorry about that."

"Your father would have been so proud."

"I hope so." She said through a dry throat, a sad smile barely lifting her lips.

"How have you been?"

"Good, good. Just busy, stuff like that."

"It's been years. I've seen Caleb, but not you."

"I just haven't found the time."

"I understand; the job can be busy. So, you really think we've got a serial killer in this town?"

"Do you?"

"I've thought there's been a problem from the first murder. My boss didn't think the feds needed to be called though, thought we could handle it by ourselves."

"That's what I thought being Caleb's the one who came and begged us to look into it."

"Kids smart. Smarter than ol' Masterson over there. Guess when the feds came calling for an invitation he couldn't say no. That'd be bad press on us. Speakin' of Caleb, where is he? I've got to give him a rough time for not telling me about your big job."

"I don't know. I'm sure hell come crawling by later." Alex walked with George towards where Morgan and Reid were instructed to set up the crime boards.

"Can't wait to give him hell." He paused. "I hope you don't look at the department poorly because we didn't call in this problem. Masterson didn't think they were connected and once he did, he was convinced we'd be able to catch the guy in a town like this."

"I understand, George. It's okay." They walked into the room side by side. "Anyways, this is Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid. You'll meet Hotch, Rossi, and JJ when they get back from the morgue." Reid stepped forward and jutted his hand out.

"Doctor Reid. It's a pleasure."

"Detective George Barwell. Pleasures all mine." He grasped Reid's hand and firmly shook it. Alex observed, bizarre feelings overcoming her as her old life collided with her new one.

* * *

Alex was attempting to be discreet while staring in at the first interview Morgan was conducting. The key word was attempting, as she couldn't help but ogle. Inside one of the rooms, Morgan was sitting with Kerri Hudgins' best friend who had been with her the night she disappeared. Tears were streaming down the girls red and puffy face.

"Who is that?" Hotch, who had just come back from the morgue, asked as he followed Alex's gaze.

"Gail Underwood. She was with Kerri the night she died." Hotch nodded in understanding. The two stood in silence as Hotch watched Gail and Alex was consumed in her thoughts.

"Did you find anything at the morgue?"

"The bruising was from strangulation. He did it to subdue the girls. The gunshot wounds were the real cause of death, except in Claire Chatham's case."

"What about the stabbings?" Alex asked.

"Done with a regular kitchen knife. Besides Claire Chatham, the other girls were stabbed in areas where a gunshot would have killed them first."

"If he's taking them at night and killing them before morning, what's he doing all those hours?"

"Torturing them." Hotch admitted. "The cuts on their bodies were done with the same knife." Just as Hotch finished talking, Morgan stepped out of the interview room with a depressing sigh.

"She didn't even notice Kerri Hudgins leave the bar they were at. And when she didn't see her after a while she figured she went home with some guy." Alex kept quiet of the news of useless information.

"Who are you talking to next?" Hotch asked. Morgan looked over to the seats near the water cooler. A young man sat looking down to the cup in his hands. He restlessly jiggled his legs.

"Joseph Campos. He was on set up duty of the coffee shop he works at when he went into the back ally and found Jennifer Price. Reid's taking Aubrey Muller's sister."

"Joe Campos?" Alex realized.

"You know the guy?" Morgan quickly asked.

"Yeah, he was in my graduating class."

"Like Jennifer Price." Hotch noted.

"Yeah." Alex's brows tightened together while she thought long and hard.

"Were they friends?" Hotch asked.

"No." She shook her head. "If anything, Jennifer was the popular one and Joe, he…"

"Wasn't?" Morgan finished.

"And not Jennifer's type."

"Meaning?"

"She rejected him a couple times." Alex hated admitting that. She knew saying that would put him high on their suspect list, and since they didn't have any other suspects, it would put him first and leading.

"Go. You knew this kid, even if it was just as a passer-byer. Figure out if he's lying." Alex nodded, walking over to the nervous man.

"Hey Joe." She smirked. He looked up to meet her gaze.

"Who are you?" He looked down at the badge clipped to her jeans. "Kennedy? Jesus, I haven't seen you since high school. You're the fed I'm supposed to be talking to?"

"Well it can be either me, or him," Alex threw her thumb over her shoulder to point back at Morgan, "take your pick."

"Where do we start?"

Alex took Joe into a meeting room and sat him down. She retrieved the file on him from his first interview with the cops. She noticed George had conducted it. As quick as possible, Alex read over the notes while Joe impatiently waited.

"I didn't think you'd become FBI." He mused, tapping his fingers against the mahogany table.

"We're not here to talk about me." She closed the notes and placed them on the table.

"Yeah, yeah. We're here to talk about Jen."

"Actually, I want to know more about how you found her. What happened, really."

"I already told the cops this two weeks ago."

"So? I'm not the cops." Alex sat back in her seat.

"What, am I a suspect or something? All I was trying to do was my job, not get in trouble."

"What were you trying to do for your job?"

"I have the morning shift Tuesdays and Thursdays. I get to work at five fifteen. I set up the chairs, the tables…I start brewing the coffee. I even get to put the pastries in the display case!" He feigned excitement and finally rolled his eyes. "Normal stuff. Stuff that doesn't involve killing."

"So how'd you end up in the back where you found Jen?"

"Taking out the garbage." He strongly stated. "Is that a crime?" He took out the garbage that early?

"I'm trying to do my job too, Joe." Alex sighed before flipping open George's notes and taking a look at the 911 call information. She decided to move on and ignore Joe's inputs. "So, you called 911 at 5:38 AM…"

* * *

As Alex finished interviewing Joseph Campos, Reid had finished his interview with Aubrey Muller's sister. Joe had put up quite a wall Alex had to chisel down. And no matter how long it took, he kept it up. Joe walked out of the station but not without spotting Ashley Muller, and nodding a quick hello to her.

"Any luck with Campos?" Reid asked as Morgan approached them.

"He admits that he didn't like her, but not enough to kill her."

"He knows Muller?" Alex nodded. "What else?"

"I don't know. There were some things he was hiding but I don't think it was murder."

"He doesn't fit the body type of the unsub." Reid noted.

"But there's still something off." Alex sighed, causing Morgan to whip out his phone.

"Hey baby girl, can you do me a favor…great…Joseph Campos, can you keep track of everything? Credit card payments, phone calls, you know the deal…of course…thanks sugar mama, talk to you in a few." Reid and Alex sashayed away from Morgan and towards the coffee machine.

"What about you? Did Ashley Muller give anything noteworthy?" Alex wondered.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. She's in town to visit from Denver. The last time she saw her sister was at 9:30 that Thursday, when she was leaving dinner. They parked at opposite ends and she saw her walk off towards her car."

"Was her car still in the parking lot?" Alex poured two cups of coffee.

"She parked on the street. According to impound, it was towed at 3 AM."

"And then they found her at 6:30." Alex sighed, handing Reid the sugar.

"In a park parking lot." She stirred her coffee continuously. The two turned around and watched Hotch talk to George. While Alex was deep in thought watching the two, she decided to take out her phone. Her fingers quickly dialed Garcia.

"Hello my sweetness, how may I be of assistance?"

"Can you do me a favor?" Alex walked away and to the room where they had set up.

"Honey, I love you and I think you're beautifully smart, but that's a stupid question."

"Can you check the transactions at two places and see if any of them overlap?" Her eyes skimmed over the map and post-it notes.

"Let me hear it."

"Badham's Bar and Dragon House."

"Gotcha. Back in a jiff!" Alex hung up the phone and placed it on the table.

"Do you think this guy would have gone to the same places as the girls?" Reid, who had unknowingly to Alex followed her into the room, asked.

"I'm trying to check out anything possible at this point." She shrugged.

"Hey, Kennedy." Morgan called. She looked up to meet his gaze as he marched into the room.

"Yeah?"

"Where's a good place to get some food around here?"

"Depends what you want." Passing by, Hotch entered the room after hearing the conversation. "Dave's been talking about Italian." He stated.

"What else is new." Morgan chuckled.

"Russo's is good." She offered before turning back around to study the murder board.

* * *

Night quickly fell and most of the on duty officers were sent to scope out the city. Morgan and Reid had been called out to go sit watch at Joe Campos' house until George and a fellow officer took over. The two had pulled into the station parking lot after what felt like years later.

"I don't know about that, Reid." Morgan laughed as he exited the car.

"It's true. Just look at the statistics." Reid shrugged, shutting his door behind him. Just as he was about to turn forward and go into the station, he noticed one of the engines to the SUV's the team used turned on. The car was stalled in a parking space across the lot and staring out onto the street. His light brown eyes narrowed in, staring at the figure inside the car. He made it out to be Alex. She sat in the driver's seat, pensively staring out at the road. Her thumb was pressed up against her lips, a tick Reid noticed she did whenever she was deep in thought. He had seen her deep in thought many times before, and she never looked this dejected. Her body was turned away from the window, and Reid silently became thankful for it as she wouldn't see him staring with concern.

"Go talk to her." Morgan offered from the front of the car.

"I don't think she wants that." He disagreed. Ever since her brother had shown up, Alex had been a different person. It was a side Reid hadn't seen before. "She's kept to herself."

"That doesn't mean she doesn't need someone there for her." Reid sighed at Morgan's reply. He kept quiet and continued to stare. Morgan walked over to him, and gave him an assuring pat on the back.

"Go." Morgan urged. "I'll see you inside."

* * *

Alex had found herself quickly volunteering to pick up dinner for the team. But when it came to going back into the station, she found herself frozen in her seat. She glared out to the empty street in front of her. Occasionally a car or a night jogger would pass by. She wondered what possessed these people to stay out late with a serial killer still on the loose. Maybe they were in disbelief, much as she was. Alex found herself with the overwhelming urge to bite her thumb nail placed at her lips, so she placed her hands down on her jeans. She sat in her own silence, the quite radio around her was muted out by mind eating thoughts. Beside her, two light taps knocked against the window. Her head whipped to the driver's window, her heart pounding against her chest. She let out a breath she'd been holding in as she saw Reid standing there. He lightly smiled and, hesitantly, Alex returned it. The lump stuck in her throat urged her to not roll the window down, just to let Reid know that she wanted to be by herself. Clearly, Reid noticed her reluctance, as he walked away from her window and jogged to the other side of the car. He quickly slid into the passenger seat and closed the door behind him. Alex flatly smiled, finding herself at a loss for words. He wasn't taking her nonverbal no as an answer.

"What are you doing out here?" He simply asked.

"Just getting fresh air."

"Wouldn't the fresh air be outside the car?"

"I guess." She quietly replied, not in the mood to continue the conversation.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Alex quickly answered.

"I…I don't really believe that, Alex." Alex's head lifted and her eyes darted up to meet Reid's. She had never heard Reid call her by her first name. In her presence, it had never rolled off his tongue. _Ever_. It had always been _Kennedy, Agent Kennedy_. She had said his name, but he never uttered hers before this moment. Alex liked the way he said her name. How calmly, and sweet he spoke it. And for that split second, him saying her name distracted her from the world around her. But just like that, her eyes fell back down and her guard was built back up.

"It's—you wouldn't understand. It's nothing."

"I do understand that my friend is hurting and that I want to stop whatever is making her in so much pain." Her eyes fell back on Reid, who looked genuinely concerned. She hadn't had someone this concerned for her well being since her father died. Instinctively, they closed at the burning sensation that threatened her with tears. Alex's shaky fingers ran over her face, stopping at her quivering lips. She opened her eyes, her gaze falling forward to the street ahead of her instead of Reid.

"When's the last time you were home?" She quietly asked.

"About one hundred ninety-three days." Alex looked over to Reid. He cleared his throat. "Six months give or take a few days."

"You said that feeling like this was completely normal. That you do all the time…would you feel like that if it's been four years?" It took Reid a second to react, but when he did he shook his head.

"Does this have to do with your dad?" He finally asked. Alex swallowed hard, _so he had heard_.

"My dad died four years ago and Caleb…Caleb wanted nothing to do with me after."

"So this is the first time you've been home since?"

"Yeah." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"And this is the first time you've talked to Caleb since." Reid noticed. Afraid she'd start bawling her eyes out if she spoke up, she simply nodded and kept her mouth shut. Instead, a lone tear traveled its way down her cheek. Alex barked a quiet, sad laugh at how uncomfortable the situation was.

"The sights, the smells, the people…it's too much. Being back is too much."

"I understand." Reid quietly replied. "It's hard coming back to a place with so many memories…painful and pleasant."

"You sound like you speak from experience." She quietly noted, finally looking up from tugging the hem of her sleeve. Alex quickly wondered what Reid's experience was. This time, Reid was the one to look away.

"We all have demons from our past, Alex." There he went saying her name again—comforting her in the strangest of way. While Alex's tried with all her strength for her eyes to not water up, she wondered what Reid's own demons were.

"He came to me like nothing was wrong, like he hadn't just forgotten about me the past four years. And now he wants everything to be perfectly normal. I don't want that. I don't want to forget that he could have—that he did just dump me that easily. Like I was nothing. I can't go back to the hope it would change." She paused to catch her breath. Compared to her tears, Alex's strength made no match. "I just want it to go away." Alex whispered, feeling a familiar red hot, salty stinging behind her eyes. Reid could hear the shakiness in her voice.

"The feelings?" She nodded.

"I don't like feeling like this. I loved him too much. And once he was gone…" Alex paused and squeezed her eyes closed, tears trailing down her cheeks, "I was alone."

"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Reid quoted. Alex looked up in confusion. "Alfred Lord Tennyson."

"Maybe he's right," she whispered once the tears finally stopped, "but the pain would have been easier if I hadn't." Reid looked straight into her brown eyes. They were watery, almost clear in the way they sparkled. Her lashes stood out more than usual as they clumped together bonded by tears. Her lips were parted as they ever so often quivered. Her cheeks were damp and just beginning to redden. Alex looked innocently beautiful, and it was the wrong time for Reid to notice it. This of all times was not the time. Reid had always been uncomfortable when it came to crying, especially crying girls. He wasn't the best when it came to talking to the distraught families of victims because he didn't know how to deal with the tears. It didn't come naturally to him. But yet with Alex, it did.

"I wish you told me." He admitted. She sniffled and blinked the salty tears out of her eyes.

"I'm more of the suffer in silence type."

"That doesn't mean you have to do it alone." Reid lightly smiled again. Alex inhaled sharply and nodded, this time it only took her a few moments to return Reid's gesture.

* * *

 **A/N: WOW Ok, ridiculously long chapter here! Like im praying yall read this till the end. But the next 1-2 chapters are going to be focused on this case so i didnt want to make it more chaps than that. This is a little insight into Alex's past so I hope yall like it! I'd really love reviews for this because I've been writing stuff for it forever and it would mean a ton! I also really hope the ending scene was okay. Thoughts and comments! Xx**


	10. Home Is Where The Hatred Is

**A/N: Hello Reiders! So quick note. This is the second out of third part of Alex's personal chapter:] Next one is going to be action packed because, well, you'll obviously see. I put Alex's outfit for this and the past chapter on polyvore. Also, I forgot to write this last chapter, Caleb Kennedy is portrayed by Nick Blood! Plz review and gimme some lovin!**

* * *

Steam tumbled out of the bathroom door as Alex walked out wrapped tightly in a towel. She sashayed over to the mirror and released her dry hair out of its bun, letting it tumble onto her bare back. She stared in the mirror, first at her reflection and then the bed behind her. It taunted her, ever so often provoking her to just crawl back into it. Though the hotel bed had been more than comfortable, Alex found herself awake most of the night. Thoughts of Caleb and their lack of father had plagued her till all hours. She had tossed and turned, paced the room…nothing had seemed to work. After finally falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion, Alex woke up a little after six with a whole 15 seconds of bliss. It didn't take long for her to remember where she was. And with that, the other hour she had to sleep disappeared down the drain. After realization hit her she wasn't falling back asleep, she had gotten up to get ready for the work day.

After throwing on her clothes and making herself look as if she _hadn't_ spent the night aimlessly staring at the ceiling, she slipped out the room. She opened the door and quickly slid her credit card, room key, and phone into the pocket of her olive jacket.

"Hey." Alex surprisingly looked up, not expecting for any other agent to be up this early. Reid had been walking down the hallway and was happening to pass her room at what seemed like perfect timing. "What are you doing up so early?" He wondered.

"I could ask you the same thing." She replied, shutting the door behind her and jiggling the handle to assure it was locked. She discreetly gazed over Reid's face, wondering if he had gotten any sleep himself last night. The permanent dark circles under his eyes made it almost impossible to tell.

"I always wake up early." Reid stated, his hands fiddling around in the pocket of his cardigan.

"I'll never understand you morning people." Alex stifled a yawn.

"Being a morning is really just a state of mind. Some scientists think that it's written in your DNA but it's really just your chronotypes and bodily clock convincing you otherwise." Reid paused. "But since you're not a morning person, what are you doing up?"

"Figured I had to get up eventually." She shrugged. She knew deep down Reid figured she had trouble sleeping last night. "Where are you off to? Coffee run?"

"Of course."

"Perfect." She grinned. "You're coming with me then."

* * *

Finally finding a parking spot some ways down from the coffee shop, Alex pulled the large SUV into one of the few angled parking spots that lined the shopping area of downtown Summit. The usual, busy morning crowd flocked to surrounding bagel shops, post boxes, dry cleaners, and of course, Expresso's—the towns most underrated coffee shop. Alex hopped out of the car and found herself walking down the sidewalk, Reid in step beside her. She took a deep breath in of the crisp, icy air. It smelt different than that of Quantico or D.C. It smelled like…home. It was the only way she could describe it. Alex shoved her hands into the pocket of her jacket to shield herself from the cold as Reid looked around at the storefronts while they continued forward.

"So," He cleared his throat, "which of the six coffee shops we passed on the way here are we going to?"

"Expresso's." Alex informed, Reid quickly replied with a chuckle. "What?"

"They named the shop Expresso's?"

"Hey, they don't get awarded for the creativity. Just the coffee."

"Duly noted. If they're that good let's hope there's not a long line."

"We're only a quarter mile from the station so we've got plenty of time." A silence fell over the two as they continued to walk. Alex noted Reid continuing to take in his surroundings.

"Homey, right?" She mused, refraining from letting the reminiscent memories get the best of her.

"Very. Charming, really."

"It's beautiful at night. They have little lights hanging everywhere…at least they used to. But hell, that was years ago." Reid could tell that she didn't allowed herself to self indulge in the past. It was something she wanted to forget about by the looks of her body language.

"So, how, um, how are you feeling?" Reid finally had the courage to ask. Alex shrugged, thinking about how to answer.

"I'm fine."

"Is that the truth or just something you're saying to get out of talking about it?"

"You're the profiler, you tell me." The two finally reached Expresso's. Reid opened the door, letting Alex and then himself step through. Immediately, the welcoming smell of ground coffee beans wafted up Alex's nostrils. It was refreshing and savory, and it made her stomach growl. The line was only halfway to the door, which wasn't as bad as Alex had initially thought. In the mean time, her eyes darted around the shop, wondering how much had changed since her last visit. The walls were still done in a burnt burgundy brick and a dark chocolate, and they still laid bare of any pictures or signs. Several customers that weren't in any hurry with their morning sat at the tables and couches spread across the store. Each sipped on their white mugs and read books or overviewed paperwork—doing their casual morning routines. It reminded Alex of her high school days, where she'd come to the shop after school and finish up her homework. Alex looked up to the menus that hung from the ceilings above the cash registers. New items were peppered in with familiar listings. From there, she eyed the display of freshly baked pastries, wondering if she should splurge since it was going to be yet another long day, with probably very little time for food.

"This is a really nice place!" Reid commented, dropping any initiative conversation he was going to strike up involving Caleb.

"Told you you'd like it." Alex genuinely flashed a toothy smile, which was relieving for Reid.

"It beats my place back at home."

"Where do you go?"

"A small café called _Renders_. It's right by my apartment."

"Which is where?"

"Forest Hills area."

"Really?" She exclaimed. "You're not even that far from me!"

"Thirteen minutes." He replied. Alex quietly chucked, _of course he knew the exact time_.

"I didn't realize you were so close. I'll have to try out your area of town one morning."

"Yeah. Yeah, just let me know. I wont take the metro that day." Reid casually replied.

"Metro? Do yo…" Alex paused as the people in front of the moved up as the male cashier called next. She looked at the barista managing the register, seeing how familiar his face looked even underneath his cap. Reid followed her gaze. "It completely slipped my mind Joe worked here." She groaned. Her eyes squinted to read the name tag pinned on his apron, slightly hoping it was just someone who looked like him. It was definitely Joe Campos. Joe looked up to greet his customers, but instead his eyes fell on Alex and Reid. His lips, once a welcoming smile, dropped into a scowl. His jaw squared, his body tensed immensely. He reached over to the barista passing him, mumbling a quick excuse, and then leaving his station to disappear into the back.

"Whether he committed the murders or not, he looks guilty of something." Reid acknowledged.

"That or he thinks we're stalking him."

"We did sit outside his home last night." Reid reminded. So technically, they were.

"Yup, he's totally going to say we're stalking him." Alex believed, her lips flatting into a line.

"Next!" Another cashier called, having the two agents step forward. "What can I get you?"

"I'll have a small French vanilla roast with cream anddd—" Alex hesitantly looked to the pastry display with it's appetizing items. She felt pressured to choose as seconds ticked by "and a blueberry muffin."

"Anything else?"

"I'll have a medium black coffee and a cinnamon roll." Reid said.

"Alright, that'll be $7.84. For here or to go?"

"For here." Alex informed, digging the credit card out of her pocket. As she went to hand the shiny blue card to the cashier, Reid was already handing her cash. "What are you doing?"

"Paying." Reid simply answered.

"And what's the name for the order?" The cashier interrupted as she grabbed the money.

"Spencer." He quickly answered.

"No, I mean why are you paying? I've got my card on me." Alex interjected just as the cashier was thanking them.

"It's my treat."

"I'm more than capable of paying." Alex reminded with a sigh. She mentally noted to herself to slip Reid a five later that day.

"I'm aware. You can next time." Reid paused. "I mean, if…"

"Yes. Deal." She laughed as they headed over to the pick up area.

"I really can't get over how good this place smells." Reid mused, continuing to look around again.

"I'd hate to admit it, but I'm a bit of a coffee snob. Once I tasted this place, Starbucks lost me forever."

"Coffee snob, huh?"

"No judging Mr. _I'll-have-a-side-of-coffee-with-my-ten-sugars_." Alex waved a finger.

"We're going to play that game." Now it was Reid's crack his partner a toothy smile.

"Yes, but I do admire you having such a sweet tooth. I've never seen a grown man throw down as much sugar as you do, I'll admit that."

"It's a special talent."

"Apparently just one of your many." Alex chuckled. Inside his cardigan, Reid's phone began beeping while inside Alex's began vibrating in her jacket pocket. The two looked at each other with minor suspicion before pulling out their phones and opening the text message from Hotch.

 _Another body's been found. Station in fifteen._

Alex's visible smile fell, much like her heart did into her stomach. Another girl had been killed overnight. She could instantly feel Reid's gaze fall on her, yet she refused to look up from reading the message.

"Order for Spencer!" One of the male barista's called as they pushed out white coffee mugs and pastry filled plates. Alex heavily sighed, pushing her phone back into it's pocket.

"We're going to need that to go." Alex corrected, the bartender nodding in acknowledgment.

* * *

"Allison Carter. Twenty-three years old. Maintenance man found her when he was turning off a water pump." JJ informed as they stood over the body of the brunette. The team stood out back of a tall apartment building. It was a classy area of town, it surprised Alex for the body to be found here. Then again, everywhere else had been too. There was a bullet wound smack dab in the middle of the victim's forehead. The skin around her once pale neck was a fusion of blue and purple. She had been stabbed above the heart. There was a hole in the girl's dress where a knife had previously been. Blood had poured out of the wound and stained her formerly beautiful dress.

"Huh." Reid intriguingly sounded, "he stabbed her right around the heart in an artery that specifically wouldn't kill her."

"How thoughtful." Alex muttered.

"Looks like she put up a fair fight. There's scratching on her arms. A bruise on her knee." Rossi noted.

"Any clue of the time of death?" Alex asked the female detective.

"Coroner's office only took a quick look. But based on lividity about three hours ago." Three hours too late, Alex thought. George, who had been previously talking to the maintenance man, walked over looking more stressed than he had the previous day.

"The unsub could have dumped her anytime between three thirty and six. Maintenance got a complaint about low water pressure. He didn't check it out till about an hour ago. Said one of the valves had been loosened."

"He loosened the valve?" Rossi repeated. "Guess he wanted to make sure she was found."

"Probably trying to show off that he's still killing while the FBI's in town." Alex input.

"He's doing a damn good job of it." George scoffed.

* * *

Alex found herself back at the station with a growing headache. She sipped on her coffee, which now diminished to the bottom of the cup. Regretfully, she wished she'd ordered a large. Allison Carter marked six girls dead. Six. Six more than there should have been. And it was also six less leads the BAU had on whoever the unsub was.

Alex hovered over a free desk that had once belonged to her dad. She figured they never filled it after his passing. Now, it was filled with files regarding each murdered girl's whereabouts and life story over the past seven months. Pictures of the victims were peppered in along with heartbreaking statements from friends or family members who had seen them last. Alex flipped through another page of paperwork, her fingers going back up to massage her temple.

The unsub was messy when it came to the dumping sight and picking his victims. Yet when it came to making sure not a trace of him was left over, he was meticulous. How he got around without being seen while dropping dead girls around the city made Alex question her ability as a profiler. Was he just that good or were they missing something? Hell, he was taking these girls and wasn't even being seen. He might as well have been invisible. Snatching her phone from the sea of papers, Alex tapped on Garcia's contact name and dialed her number.

"House of all that is good and glittery, Princess Penelope at your service. How may I help you today my sweetness?"

"Hey. I know those initial searches you ran seeing if there was an overlapping charge to any of the places the victims visited came up with nothing, but I wanted to see how the rest of it was doing."

"Yes, yes. So far I have found nothing. Zip. Nada. No strange activities in anything from the girls account, or anyone in VICAP within fifty miles. Actually, no, no, that's not true."

"Did you find something?"

"The only overlap between all our victims is that they attended your alma matter, Summit High School. Go Hilltoppers."

"Maybe a teacher?"

"Older student?" Garcia suggested.

"I don't know, but let's look into it."

"Of course my little crime fighting angel. Garcia out!" And with that, Garcia hung up. Alex slid her phone back on the desk and began sorting the papers into piles—specifically categorizing them under each girl's respective name. After finishing, she grabbed each file and took it into the room SPD had assigned the BAU. Reid stood at the white board jotting down notes while Morgan and JJ were overviewing files at the table.

"Each of the girls went to Summit High School so I'm having Garcia do a check on any teachers or students that were there when all six of them managed to be."

"With our oldest victim being at 27 and our youngest being 17, that would leave a ten-year time difference. We should probably look at teachers, maybe coaches, that have been there for a while. Looking at students would mean the unsub knows each of his victims at some point, and each student is there for a prospective of four years—meaning it's just not possible unless he was held back for five years." Reid thought.

"That's something that would stand out." JJ huffed.

"What about junior high?" Morgan wondered. "Could have moved onto the same high school."

"There's only one middle school in the town and two high schools. So, the unsub would have been at most 14 years old to know Jennifer Price, but that also does make him too old to know Claire Chatham." Alex blinked twice, trying to have Reid's mathematical summary of the girl's ages to enter her brain.

"I didn't understand half of that but got it. Stick to the teachers." She said, grabbing Joe Campos' file from the table. She walked out of the room and straight through the station to George's office. She peaked through the door, seeing George set back in his chair while speaking on the phone. Alex knocked her knuckles softly against the door, admiring the gold ' _Detective Barwell'_ plate stuck on the door. George motioned for her to come in.

"Got it, thanks a lot. Bye." He hung up the phone and looked up to Alex with a stiff smile on his face.

"Problem?"

"As many as there can be for six murders in such a small town." He sighed. "What can I do for you, Al?"

"I saw Joe Campos at Expresso's this morning. And if I didn't say he looked guilty I'd be lying."

"My officers didn't see anything suspicious last night. I didn't see anything when I was out there. The kid didn't leave his house." Alex groaned, running her free hand over her face.

"Why look guilty then?"

"Can't tell you. There might be something there that doesn't involve the murders because he definitely wasn't out when Allison Carter was killed last night."

"Back to square one." Alex disappointingly shook her head and sat herself on the arm of one of the chairs. "So, who's giving you problems now?" She motioned to the landline on George's desk.

"It was just the M.E's office making sure I got the fax for Agent Hotchner."

"About Allison Carter?"

"Yeah. Confirming the same motive as the other girls and the T.O.D."

"When was it?"

"About four thirty this morning." George informed with a heavy sigh. Alex drummed her fingers against the wooden arm rest she sat on. Her eyes looked over George's desk, noting the calendar with the day of the week in big, bold letters.

"So Allison was killed at four thirty this morning and it's Tuesday."

"Yes…" George confirmed, wondering where she was going with the information.

"When I talked to Joe Campos he told me that he works every Tuesday and Thursday. He gets in at five fifteen for his morning shift."

"Back to Campos? Alex I hate to admit it, but you're beating a dead horse, kid. What's the point?"

"Allison may have been killed at four thirty, but the unsub might not have ditched her till a little bit after that. You know, kind of hung out with the body a little and then let her go?"

"You're losing me, Al."

"The point is, is not a ton of people are out that early in the morning. Joe Campos might have seen something."

"He already said he knew nothing."

"He might not even know he saw it. Or, maybe he did and he was somewhere he shouldn't have been." George thought about Alex's proposal for a few moments. To her relief, he began nodding his head.

"Should we call him in?"

* * *

"What am I doing back here? I haven't even done anything wrong." Joe Campos grumbled as he spitefully glared from Alex to Hotch.

"Yes. We're aware." Hotch dryly stated.

"So why the hell am I back here?"

"There was another murder this morning, Mr. Campos."

"I'm fully aware. I have a TV." He rebutted. Alex opened her copy of Joe's file and flipped to the notes she made in her last interview with him.

"Joe, you told me last time you were here you work the morning shifts Tuesday and Thursdays at Expresso's."

"What, are you trying to say I wasn't there this morning? You were there with your friend!"

"Yes, I'm fully aware. I do have a brain." She mocked. Joe's thick brows formed a line.

"Then what?"

"Then, you need to tell us exactly what you saw the morning you found Jennifer Price's body. Without leaving the smallest details out." Joe shivered under Hotch's harsh gaze. Alex noticed him gritting his teeth.

"You get to work at five fifteen. Not a lot of people are out that early and I'm sure you know that since you've been doing this job for a hell of a long time." Alex walked forward and slapped his file onto the table. "You've got to tell us if you saw anything." Joe was quick to avoid both agent's gazes.

"Sometimes before work I go out front and light up a joint. Kind of make those early mornings easier, you know?" Joe looked to Alex in hopes she'd understand more than Hotch.

"No." Alex replied, deadpan.

"I was in the back setting up, but I decided to light up earlier than usual. I went outside to smoke and saw a car driving away. Tires screeched so it caught my attention. I found Jen a few minutes later."

"And you didn't tell anyone about this because you were afraid we were going to take your stash? You're kidding me, right?" Hotch eyed Alex.

"Please don't tell my boss. Or my parents." He urged. "I can't afford to get in trouble."

"But you could afford to have another girl get killed." Alex scoffed.

"Kennedy." Hotch reprimanded, urging her to take a breather. She shut her mouth, continuing her fuming from the inside.

"I think I saw the same car passing by this morning too when I was opening up." Joe admitted.

"What kind of car?" Hotch immediately asked.

"A dark Ford sedan. Couldn't give you the plates or anything, wasn't paying attention." Hotch nodded and stood up from his chair, grabbing the files from the table.

"Thank you for your time." The two agents walked out side by side. "I know you're frustrated but you can't put blame on a witness." Hotch stated.

"Sorry." Alex apologized, avoiding Hotch's gaze.

"I told you if you wanted to be taken off this case, I understand. You have to let me—"

"Hotch I promise I can handle it. I'll cool down. I'll keep my mouth shut, I'm sorry."

"Fine. It's time to deliver the profile."

* * *

The entire police department of Summit packed the station as they listened to Hotch and the team members deliver the profile on their towns terrorizer. Alex kept quiet, just as she promised Hotch, so she could cool down. She was embarrassed to say the least. Having her boss tell her she did something wrong was almost humiliating. She hated getting reprimanded almost as much as she hated being back in town. But, sadly enough, she knew he was right. Alex posted up against a wall as the rest of the team gave insight about the maniac murderer on the loose. Hotch explained that the unsub was a white male, ranging from his mid thirties to early fifties. Fit, and about 5'10 to 5'11 in build. Morgan explained that the guy was a sexual sadist, and that he took pleasure in torturing his victims since he would strangle, stab, and shoot the girls. In that order. He explained the strangling was to subdue them, and the stabbing was for his own gratification. He chose areas to stab that wouldn't be enough to kill the girls, just enough for them to endure torture and a high level of pain. Reid was next, informing the department because of the times the victims were abducted and dropped, the unsub had a day job. And because all the victims went to Summit High School together, there was a high possibility the unsub was a staff member there. Rossi warned that the girls were taken from suburban areas when there wasn't a lot of people around. Subsequently, Hotch spoke again and warned the officers to be careful. He believed that if the officers saw anything strange, a hair out of place, that they should be vigilant in looking into it. In the mean time, JJ was preparing George for a news conference to brief the community. He and his boss decided it would be best if a curfew was set in place. They hoped there would be less murders with it in place. The meeting broke up and everyone went their own which way. Everyone except Alex.

"A new neighbor, huh?" Rossi questioned as him and Morgan went off on their own conversation.

"And the looks on this one Rossi." Morgan marveled.

" _Molto bello_. I can imagine. Are you going to ask her out or what? Admiring from afar isn't going to do much."

"Who do you think you're talking to, Reid? Of course." Morgan threw back his head in a fit of laughter.

"Good, take…Kennedy? You alright? You look lost in translation." Rossi wondered as he and Morgan were passing by. Alex snapped out of her day dream thoughts.

"I'm fine."

"Is this about the interview with Campos?" Morgan wondered.

"No, I just want to catch the unsub and get out of here." She mumbled before brushing past the two and slipping away to the BAU's assigned room.

* * *

Alex had slowly begun to understand what it felt like to have ones' brain explode. While Morgan and JJ had gone off to the M.E, the rest of the team worked on the geographical profile and other interviews from the room they were given. Everyone, except Alex.

 _Again_.

She sat the same empty desk that was once her dads, piles of assorted papers awaiting her. She leaned herself back in the rolling chair, facing out at the office. If she looked at another pile, she'd puke. Alex wasn't sure why the job hadn't been assigned to Reid since he was a master in getting through all things incredibly boring and tedious. She lost count of how many hours it had been, how many pages she had flipped through. She promised herself that after this list she'd take a short break.

Garcia had sent over a hefty list of almost every one of the male teachers and staff member that belonged to the high school. Along with that, a basic profile and class list of each teacher. Sadly, for Alex, that wasn't even the end of it. Garcia still had yet to send over a list of substitute teachers, which she had to get from the school itself. Alex found it shocking the school had to manually compile a list of substitutes and what classes they were in for. Were computers not a thing in Summit?

The sharpie squeaked as Alex drew a thick black line through the name of another man. She tapped the sharpie against the paper as she decided to rule out anyone she personally knew no way could be the unsub. Mr. McDorman? _No, definitely not. He was ten years too old._ She continued reviewing the list. And she had planned to continue doing just that until a pair of legs stopped right in front of her. For the first time in hours, she looked up from the sheets of paper she held in her hands. Caleb stood before her, placing a coffee cup from Expresso's on the desk. No doubt, she rose a brow at the gesture.

"What, did you poison it?" Alex asked, deadpan. The hopeful smile he wore dropped.

"No. It's fresh coffee." He sighed.

"Lovely." She flatly exclaimed, ignoring the coffee and going back to her paperwork. Caleb ran his hands over his face. He loudly exhaled, attempting to refrain himself from screaming and shaking his sister by the shoulders.

"I'm trying to make an effort, Alex." He calmly gritted through his teeth. Alex kept her eyes glued on Mr. Gerald Reynolds: her old science teacher. She vowed to continue giving Caleb the cold shoulder so he'd disappear. And if she had to glue her own eyes to the paper she would.

"Thanks for the try, Caleb." She mimicked. As much as she wanted to dive herself back into the endless list of names, she couldn't focus while Caleb was hovering in front of her. Moments past and Caleb didn't budge from his spot.

"Why are you still standing here?" Caleb groaned loudly, noticeably frustrated much to his sister's benefit.

"Do you really hate me that much?" He scoffed. Alex peaked up, raising a brow and silently wondering if he was _really_ asking the obvious.

"You know, with that giant forehead of yours you'd think there'd be more brain in there." Her eyes flickered back down to the dozens of names. Caleb silently grumbled.

"I'm just trying to be a better brother okay?"

"It's not working." She admitted, flipping another page. She gave up, finally looking up to her brother for good. "What are you even doing here, anyways?"

"I came to talk to George."

"About?"

"The weather. What do you think?" Alex was surprised Caleb had begun to give her sass. She was the only one allowed to do that right now, _he_ was in no position. Alex slapped her packet shut.

"You're seriously trying to get information about this case out of George? Go home."

"I want to help; I need to help catch him. This guy killed another girl last night!" Alex stood up from her chair while Caleb failed to prove himself.

"And it's literally zero— _zero_ —of your concern." She emphasized.

"It is when it concerns the safety of people in this town!"

"You are not dad, Caleb. You are not the police." Alex reminded, slamming the list on top of another file. She could already feel her anger going through the roof. It was something that happened often when Caleb was around. "You're going to hurt yourself playing vigilante. Let us and everyone else in this station do their jobs. Stay out of this."

"Please Al," Caleb sighed. "Don't make me make you promises I can't keep." Alex's eyes narrowed while she glared at Caleb. Her head shook in disbelief.

"Your level of stupid is astounding sometimes." She noted. Caleb frowned and Alex replied with the roll of her eyes.

"Alex, come on." Caleb urged. She snatched a different packet containing a different list of names and walked past her irritated brother. She immediately noticed Reid, who was stationed at the printer nearby while he received the latest files from the school. At first, she wondered if he had tapped in on her and Caleb's conversation. But in truth, she was too annoyed to care at the moment.

"Take over for five." She pushed the packet at Reid and continued on without another word. Alex pushed out the doors that lead to the lobby, her mind swirling with anger for her brother. He wasn't a cop; he'd just make the entire investigator more complicated by helping. He was already making Alex's entire life more complicated by just breathing in her presence.

"Just who I was looking for." Rossi caught up beside Alex. "You look like you need a bite to eat. Why don't we go for a few minutes?"

"I think I just need some air, Rossi. Not food." Alex disagreed.

"Excuse me?" A frail young woman approached the two. Alex quickly skimmed over the dirty blonde. She looked wrecked—as if she hadn't slept for days. Her hazel eyes were bloodshot, the tan skin of her cheeks puffy and colorless. She clung to the peacoat she wore for dear life. "Is Agent Morgan here?"

"Uh, no. He's out. Is there anything we can do?" Alex finally recognized the girl to be Gail Underwood—Kerri Hudgins' best friend. She had been with the victim the night she disappeared.

"Agent Morgan interviewed me about the night Kerri disappeared. I've, I've been thinking over and over about it and there was a man there who bought us drinks. He was older…fifties I guess. I can't tell you who he was, but he bought them with cash." Gail informed. Rossi and Alex looked to each other.

"That would make sense why he didn't show up on any of Garcia's lists."


	11. Who Says You Can't Go Home?

_Chapter Song: Polarize by TwentyOne Pilots (Ending Scene)_

* * *

Reid's gaze trailed Alex until she disappeared out to the lobby. He had hoped he had been the only one to witness the conflict between her and Caleb. Hotch had been growing antsy regarding Alex's strange behavior and Reid knew he was more than fine taking her off the case. But Reid also knew that Alex was a persistent profiler, and she was going to finish this case even if it killed her. He knew being taken off the case would kill her honor, even have herself reconsider if she was really fit for the job. Reid's gaze dropped back to the list he handed her and then over to Caleb. It was clear to him the older Kennedy was frustrated. Frustrated was an understatement. Reid may have not known what exactly happened to their father, but it was unreasonable for Caleb to blame it on his sister no matter what it was. He only blamed it on Alex as as coping mechanism. Their father's death, according to her, was untimely. Reid knew Caleb had blamed Alex solely because it gave him an answer to why it had happened to _their_ father. Sadly, the two Kennedy children were both distraught, and one handled it better than the other.

Reid also knew what it was like growing up without a father. It was painful and lonely, like a void that refused to disappear. Caleb seemed to experience the same—times ten. The death had hit him hard. After groaning and silently expressing his frustration, Caleb stormed over to Reid.

"Spencer, right?" He asked.

"Uh, yes." Caleb sighed and dug into his back pocket.

"You seem close with my sister. Can you give her this?" Caleb handed Reid a folded envelope. Reid glared, seeing Alex's name messily written on the front.

"I—I don't think that's a good idea." He admitted. "Maybe if you gave it to Detective Bar—"

"She wont take it if George gives it to her. Please take it. If it's from you, she'll open it." Reluctantly, Reid took the letter into his possession. He nodded, assuring Caleb the letter would get to Alex. The frustrated older Kennedy stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark denim jeans. "Just…let her know I'm sorry. For everything." Reid kept silent as Caleb walked away. He looked down to the letter in his hands, his curiosity getting the best of him.

His 187 IQ didn't have to tell him what was inside the letter. It was an apology for everything—the past four years of radio silence. It was something Alex would refuse to grasp the concept of. Reid couldn't blame her. It was something Caleb needed to sit down and say to Alex in person, but there was no doubt she would push him off and far, far away.

Most of the team was continuously combing through documents while Reid had grown tired and in need of caffeine. While en route to the coffee machine, he past the wall of fallen officers. There were three men pictured with the dates ranging from 1975 to present day—Milo Parker, Benjamin Glasser, and Robert ' _Phil_ ' Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy now had a name. Even though Reid could bit by bit piece together the basic events of four years ago and what exactly Caleb's letter entailed, Reid itched to find out more. He knew he should have stayed out of it. And usually he had an extraordinary amount of will power when it came to keeping his nose out of things they shouldn't have been in. This time was different. Reid's curiosity did happen to get the best of him.

Computers weren't his thing at all, but Reid knew, for sure, he did not want to get Garcia involved. If Alex ever found out he looked into this, she'd never speak to him again. It pained him just to think about it. With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, one he noted didn't taste nearly as good as Expresso's, Reid sat down at one of the departments computers. His slim fingers quickly pounded against the keyboards, typing away. He figured the initial search of simply just Robert Kennedy would leave him with results containing JFK's brother and late New York Senator, Robert F. Kennedy. So instead, Reid punched in ' _Robert P Kennedy, Summit, New Jersey'_. Immediately, he was handed obituaries, local news stories, and articles. Reid first clicked on the obituary, scanning it to read the usual. Robert was survived by his two children Alexandra and Caleb, he was an asset to the Summit community, a wonderful human being, etcetera. Exiting out, Reid chose a different site. One with an article titling: _Local Police Officer's Body Pulled from Passaic River_. With much reluctance, he clicked on it. The further he got into the article, the more questions arose in his mind. Not even his genius brain had figured why Alex was blamed for their father driving off the road—coping mechanism or not. And not to mention why she accepted it. Hearing Alex's voice return in the distance, Reid exited the browser and shut down the computer. He looked across the office, seeing Alex walking beside the woman Morgan had interviewed just yesterday. The letter sat burning a hole in the pocket of his cardigan.

* * *

Night fell and the team found themselves working diligently with the newfound information given to them from Gail Underwood. What seemed like an eternity later, George returned from a round of patrolling. Alex hadn't had the chance to talk to him in due to the sudden appearance of Gail Underwood.

"Quiet night out there." George mused as he placed the keys to his cruiser on his belt buckle.

"Did you know Caleb was here earlier?" Alex asked, completely avoiding any small talk.

"Yeah, came into my office. I figured he said hi to you."

"He did—unfortunately—did he seriously come talk to you?" George laughed at Alex's shock.

"He wants to help on the case, he knows we haven't really got anywhere. He's got one of those police scanner apps on his phone. Listens to it more than he listened to your father. I don't know why he just doesn't join the force already."

"Trust me, George. You don't want someone as horrible as Caleb on your force." George's thick brows furrowed at Alex's comment.

"Alexandra, you two used to fight often, but never this bad. Never this much. You want to tell me what happened?"

"Please tell me you didn't actually let him in on any vital case information." Alex ignored.

"Kid, we didn't have any. The case was fairly dry up until Gail Underwood's moment of clarity."

"Good." Alex huffed.

"You going to tell me what happened? Or am I going to have to pry it out of your brother and hear his side of the story?" George asked. "After your dad passed you disappeared for four years. Four years! The last time I went that long without seeing you, you weren't born. And all the sudden you come back and you and your brother are strangers? Not to mention hostile ones. I don't understand."

"Probably because Caleb never told you he stopped talking to me." Alex muttered as she sifted through papers.

* * *

Alex paced the office overlooking the M.E reports of all six of the victims. George had pulled her into his office, demanding he explain exactly what she meant that Caleb had stopped talking to her after their fathers passing. George had viewed Caleb from a different place than Alex. A place where he never knew the things he was capable of doing to cope with his feelings. So to avoid thinking about admitting to George what the past four years had been like, Alex paced and threw herself into looking into any detail she and the team might have missed. She closed the last page of the report, feeling defeated as she found nothing useful.

"Kennedy, perfect timing." Morgan stated as Alex's pacing had lead her into the meeting room he was doing work in. She looked up from the reports, wondering if he had any useful information. Morgan clicked his phone screen. _Garcia_ , Alex presumed.

"Go ahead, baby girl."

"Hey." Alex greeted, tossing the M.E files to the table.

"Hello my two favorite crime fighters. I found something interesting. Really interesting, actually. You know where Allison Carter was found? In a lovely area behind the Oakridge Plaza apartment building? And remember your adorable little brother—"

"Before you make me puke, Garcia..." Alex begged.

"Well, Jessica Hall, your brother's girlfriend, that is her apartment complex!"

"Jessica Hall lives at Oakridge Plaza?"

"Bingo!" Garcia cried.

"And the station didn't bring this up once." Morgan realized.

"Well, I don't think they did because poor little Jessica was only attacked! And she was attacked at the Kennedy family home. Technically, she wasn't a victim in their book and nor was she attacked at her own home."

"What about security footage? Have you gotten that yet?"

"Security footage of Badham's bar is sending over as we speak. So far there's nothing on the building's footage."

"This is a long shot Garcia but can you get the footage from the apartment building the day to a week before Jessica was attacked?"

"Of course my Princess of Summit. Till we speak again!" There was a click on the other line as Garcia hung up.

"So," Morgan began thinking. "He attacked Jessica somewhere other than her home. Fast forward a week and he dumps a body behind her apartment building?"

"Sounds like someone's angry she got away."

"I'm going to have Hotch call PPD and get her into protective custody, what do you think?"

"I don't think the unsub would go all the way to Philly, but it's worth a shot."

* * *

Alex found herself at her dad's old desk once again. Her fingers ran over the wood, gliding over every knick and scratch. If she dared to close her eyes, she could imagine the name plate with her father's name engraved in gold. Robert 'Phil' Kennedy. Robert sounded strange to her. Her father had rarely been called Robert. He told Alex when he was younger, he went by his middle name instead. He had always been asked if he had been related to Senator Robert Kennedy, _enough to rename himself apparently._ Alex could still see the picture Phil kept on his desk of the two siblings and him at a congratulatory dinner when he had been awarded Chief Deputy.

"Was this your dads?" Reid piped up, walking towards Alex with one of his hands fiddled in the pockets of his navy and beige cardigan. Alex couldn't help but admit defeat; she chuckled.

"What gave it away?"

"You could have chosen any empty room to work in yet you've spent most of your time around or working at this desk."

"We really have to establish a rule about inner-team profiling." Reid shrugged at Alex's comment.

"Just an honest observation."

"Profiling." Alex corrected. "Did you finish going over the uh—"

"background check on Jessica Hall. Yes."

"So what brings you over to my area of town?" She joked.

"Waiting on one of the officers to put up a fresh pot."

"I wouldn't hold your breath; I've been waiting for what seems like years." Reid cleared his throat.

"I saw Caleb here earlier."

"Is it just me or does that oddly sound like you saw the devil?" Alex wondered. Reid awkwardly laughed, unsure of what to say next.

"It could be. But, about earlier…" Reid took his hand out of his pocket and laced it with his other. His fingers drummed again the back of his hands.

"Reid, talk to me about anything else but my brother right now. Literally anything."

"I could explain Nikola Tesla's dynamic theory of gravity if you're interested."

"Is he the inventor of those fancy cars that drive themselves?"

"Huh? No! He was one of the world most brilliant men—if not the most. He invented—"

"There you are." Hotch called, interrupting Reid. Alex turned around to see Hotch looking more stressed than usual.

"Everything, okay?" She wondered.

"Garcia sent over all the footage from the bar and Jessica Hall's apartment." He informed. Alex already knew that SPD's tech guy had been looking at the bar footage.

"Anything unusual?"

"I'm not sure. I want you to take a look." He requested.

* * *

Hotch, Reid, and Alex all migrated into a dark room in the back of the department. It was the tech room—or what Alex liked to call it, the bat cave. It was dark, the only light came shining from the two screens the departments tech officer worked off of. He sat in front of two screens, the one on the left contained the footage from Badham's Bar, while the one on the right viewed an empty front door of the Oakridge Plaza apartment building. Both the room and the desk was sizeably small and the computer screens looked like something a gamer would have. Alex noted how revolted Garcia would be.

"Here's the only footage we can find of the victim being bought a drink by an older gentleman." The officer stated, rolling the video. The footage on the left was nothing short of grainy. A bar wasn't a place a security camera was often needed, let alone a high quality one. Alex watched intently, her eyes focusing on the back of an older gentleman clad in a suede jacket sitting at the bar. In seconds, Kerri walked up along side the man and attempted to flag down a bartender. The man stood up from his stool, saying something to catch Kerri's attention. She laughed, smiled, and nodded. The two talked for less than a minute before Gail Underwood wandered over.

"She's smiling at him." Reid noted, watching Kerri talk with the man. Gail just nodded and grinned. The man hailed over a bartender, who served them a total of three shots. He handed them out, turning to the side to clink glasses with the two girls. Alex's eyes squinted at the grainy image, taking in part of the unsub's face.

"There's no way." She said to herself. She recognized the hair and the face through the graininess. She even recognized the jacket. She had seen it before.

"Kennedy, what is it?" Hotch asked.

"Let me see the tapes from Jessica's building." Alex demanded, ignoring Hotch's inquiry. Her attention shot to the right screen. The officers quickly pressed a button, the footage playing in fast forward motion. Alex's eyes darted along the screen as hours of footage hastily rolled by.

"The building is equipped with brand new technology. You need a pass code to get into the building and even on the elevator." The man informed. She watched dozens and dozens of residents and visitors quickly type codes into the key pad of the front door.

"Stop!" Alex ordered, the officer instantly pausing the video of the man who had tried several times to enter numbers into the key pad. He turned around in hopes to disappear out of the building without being seen. "No way." Alex said in nothing but a whisper, refusing to believe the video. But, this time, the footage was clear. There was no doubting who the unsub was now.

"Kennedy, who is it?" Hotch asked. She straightened herself up from leaning over.

"Harrison Clark."

"Who is he?"

"My old neighbor…" She paused, the wheels of her mind turning to remember everything on Harrison, "and a substitute English teacher at the high school."

"That's our guy." Reid exclaimed.

"Give me an address, Kennedy."

"He—he moved. He doesn't live on the street anymore." Hotch whipped his phone out, quickly dialing his own tech analyst.

"Garcia, I need an address for a Harrison Clark." Hotch alerted as him and the younger agents walked out the back room.

"If Harrison Clark is mad about Jessica Hall getting away, you need to go find your brother."

"My brothers not Jessica Hall." Alex retorted.

"But he is her boyfriend. Go to your house, we'll go to Clarks." Much to Hotch's surprise, Alex nodded and didn't fight for another agent to take the job. Hotch split off to inform George of their new findings while Alex split for her father's desk. She quickly threw on a black sweatshirt over her outfit and then dashed to where the keys of the SUV's were held. She snatched one, and rushed to the station's lobby just as officer's were getting news of the unsub's identification. Two officers walked in wearing rain jackets dotted with rain.

"Wait!" Reid called as he rushed into the lobby. His hand was stuffed into his pocket again. "I'll come with you."

"You need to go get your gun. They need more help at his house than mine. I'll see you when you're back." Alex promised. She turned around on her heel, throwing the hood of her jacket on, and walking out into the cold, rainy night.

* * *

Alex hopped into the dark undercover sedan. She tossed her gun, radio piece, and credentials into the passenger seat as she peeled out of the SPD parking lot. She immediately dialed Caleb's number, figuring he most likely heard over the scanner app that Harrison Clark was the unsub. The call rang and rang and finally went to voicemail. The car zoomed through the empty, damp roads. Alex drove quickly, hoping she'd find her brother in time for him to not do something stupid. She continuously called Caleb, who refused to answer the phone.

"This is Caleb, you—"

"Ugh!" Alex loudly groaned as Caleb's voice message was her only reply. The voice mail beeped loudly. "You at least better answer the door, Caleb. Don't make this drive for nothing and don't do something stupid." She spat, hanging up and stuffing her phone into her jacket pocket.

Alex managed to arrive at the house in record time. She pulled the car in front of the house and slid out. The night was quiet and the rain had turned to nothing but an occasional drip here and there. Alex's eyes trailed up to the house in front of her. It was dark, the porch lights had been left off. She prayed Caleb was home, that he was sleeping if anything. She couldn't deal with him doing anything reckless in result of Harrison Clark being the unsub. She knew her brother, at least she used to, and he would no doubtedly be more than happy to. With high hopes of her brother being home, Alex walked up the pathway to her childhood home. As she reached the porch, the sound of a gun cocking stopped her in her path.

"Put your hands behind your head." A voice quietly demanded. Alex froze, her face turning a ghostly pale once she realized she left her own gun in the car. She debated whether or not reaching for her phone, but she figured the unsub would get off several shots before she'd even unlock it. "Now, Jessica." He demanded. Alex swallowed hard as she slowly lifted her arms. Harrison Clark wasn't stupid enough to gun down an FBI agent out of the blue. Caleb's taunt to Alex on the plane rang in her mind. _She's brunette now_ , he had smirked. Alex still had the hood of her jacket on, which mistakenly lead Harrison to recognize the long dark brown locks sticking out of the jacket as those of Jessica's. "Now turn around." He demanded. With much reluctance, Alex turned around and revealed her face. The fear exposed itself through Harrison's poker face for a matter of seconds, and it quickly disappeared once he realized what he had to do.

"Not Jessica." Alex admitted, taking off her hood.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay I got 1 review for the last chapter. One review :[ For the love of all that is Spencer Reid, could you all please review this chapter? I'd love to upload the final part of this case (for the record, it was originally going to be 1 chapter but it was longer than the past two combined. So please, please, please. Please review. Makes me so sad when no one does. Love to my devoted Reiders! xx  
**


	12. Homeward Bound

_Chapter Songs: I Walk the Line by Halsey (crime scene ending) & Unsteady by X Ambassadors (all scenes after)_

* * *

'"Hands up!" Harrison demanded. Alex immediately followed, her eyes following his every move. "Give me your gun."

"It's in the car."

"Give me the gun, Alexandra." His voice rose.

"You want to check me? It's in the car." She barked back.

"On your knees." Alex followed. She could feel the damp grass soaking into her jeans. As Harrison strutted towards her, she went through all of the options she had. At the moment, there was no talking him down. Harrison had just made a major mistake and he was enraged. Enraged was an understatement, lethal was more like it. Reaching into her pocket and calling Hotch was out of the question, so was her using her own gun. Alex's only option was for herself to get the upper hand and disarm him.

"Now I may have believed you were Jessica, but you'll do." He hissed.

"Why'd you kill those girls?" Alex ignored his statement.

"You're FBI, you're the best of the best!" His voice was laced with fake marvel, "Shouldn't you have figured that out?" He spat.

"They resembled your wife." Alex figured. "You said she left. But she cheated, didn't she?"

"Brilliant." He sarcastically replied. His fit of sadistic laughter turned into a happy sigh. "Come on Alexandra, don't you want an inkling of what those girls were like moments before their last breath? How they cried for someone like you to save them. How they begged for their lives—pleaded that they'd do _anything_ for me to let them live and go home? To see their families again?" Harrison circled around, stopping right behind Alex. "All those girls deserved it." A shiver ran down her spine as the cold metal of the gun barrel pressed against her temple. Fear pumped through Alex's pulsating veins. Her teeth gritted together as her throat tightened, an overwhelming wave of warmth flashing across her body. _Now was not the time for fear,_ she chanted in her mind. She needed to be on top of her game if she wanted to get out of this with a different outcome all those girls.

"And why's that?" Alex questioned, her body tensing as her mind swirled with a plan in the works.

"Because all women are _sluts_." He angrily spat. The gun cocked, causing the agent to tense even more. Harrison may have known Alex, but what he didn't know is that her father, as an officer, knew about all the scum bags like him in the world. And because of this, he taught her how to defended herself. Along with the Bureau's training, her crazy plan had a slight more than zero percent chance of working. Alex quickly took advantage of her arms being behind her head. She jerked her elbow up and to the side, striking Harrison hard in the groin. She ducked her head down, his fingers jolting the trigger in natural reaction. Now she knew why those earplugs were required during target practices. The sound of the gun shooting rang loudly in her ears. Harrison roared in pain and Alex soon found herself with one hand wrapped around his wrist, and one around the cold, metal barrel. The two began fighting for control of the gun. Harrison thrust his elbow into Alex's jaw. She replied by forcing the heel of her boot into his knee. His grasp on the gun relaxed and it soon was flown across the lawn. Instead of fighting over control, they began fighting each other. As the unsub launched his first to punch Alex in the stomach, she grabbed it and angled it to a painful, unnatural position. Harrison immediately smashed his head into Alex's forehead. She cried out, releasing his wrist. She was shoved down, hitting the ground with a loud thud. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her lungs. Harrison lifted his foot, placing it on Alex's chest. She wheezed with each bit of pressure he exerted. He leaned down, grasping Alex but the throat like he did with all his other victims. Alex's hands immediately flew up in attempt to pry his nasty hands off her.

"This is one of my favorite parts." He taunted. Instead of continuing and failing to get Harrison to let go, Alex reached up and dug her thumbs into his eyes. With all the strength she had as dots appeared before her vision, Alex managed to latch her hands on Harrison's body and flip him to the ground. Alex scurried up and went to run for the gun at the other end of the lawn. Harrison immediately stopped her, grabbing her hair into his fist. Alex swung her fist. If it was one thing she hated, it was people touching her hair. The two began fighting again, both throwing and taking punches and kicks.

"Get off my sister!" A voice cried out of nowhere. Alex looked up, seeing Caleb standing with a gun in his hands. A .45 ACP. That was hers.

"Caleb?" She panted. Harrison, taking advantage of the agent being distracted, back handed her across the face. She flew to the floor and rolled onto her stomach. Almost immediately, Alex's entire mouth filled with an unbearable metallic taste. She could feel a trail of liquid drip down from the corner of her lip. She spat out her blood laced saliva. "Fight like a man, Mr. Clark!" Caleb yelled, storming forward. Caleb pulled the trigger, missing Harrison by a foot. In his defense, even with a police officer father, he had never shot a gun before. Harrison grabbed the gun and began punching Caleb, who immediately fought back. The gun was whipped across Caleb's face, and Harrison jutted his knee into Caleb's stomach. But, Caleb held onto his former neighbor for dear life. Alex's gun managed to get out of both Caleb and Harrison's grip and skid across the lawn. They now fought fist to fist.

In the midst of their fight, Alex slithered her hand into her jacket pocket. Her fingers violently shook, a mixture of fear and adrenaline pumping through her veins. She entered her phones pass code, quickly pressing Hotch's phone number she kept on speed dial. _Please answer, please answer._

"Kennedy?" He answered after three rings.

"8123 Hillcrest Avenue!" She exclaimed. Her phone slipped through her fingers as a shot rang off. Alex blinked the haze out of her eyes, her head whipping up to see Caleb fall limp on the ground. "Caleb!" She shrieked. She saw Harrison holding his own gun once again. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and refilled the gun's chamber with two bullets as he stormed towards her. Alex jumped off the ground, charging towards Harrison. She threw her leg at him, swiping his hands as he blocked her foot. The gun swiped out of his grasps. The police sirens ringing out in the distance gave Alex very little relief. She didn't know how much longer she could put up a fight. She was unpleasantly surprised how good of shape the unsub was in for his age. From the outside, he didn't look like he could fight. That's probably what made him so unsuspecting. _Duck, swing, duck_ , Alex repeated as she evaded Harrison's side kick. Two black SUV's pulled to the scene, their tires screeching against the damp pavement. As Harrison punched her in the back, Alex grabbed the back of his neck and forced his head down, colliding her knee up into his nose. Regaining his strength quickly, Harrison began throwing punches. In between throwing her own, Alex put her own forearms up to block them. The team scrambled out of their cars and readied their guns.

"Harrison Clark! This is the FBI! Get on the ground!" Morgan bellowed. As Alex ducked his swinging arm, Harrison grabbed Alex and flipped her over. The young agent saw stars as her head knocked against the ground. Her head lulled to the side, spotting a black object. Through the blurriness, Alex's vision zeroed in on the gun beside her.

"I said get on the ground!" Morgan screamed. Harrison scooped up his gun from the ground the same moment Alex grabbed the one beside her. Her sore ribs protested in pain as she lurched up. Harrison aimed the gun at Caleb's body on the ground. The noise of her gun cocking rang in her ears and without a second thought, Alex's finger pulled against the trigger. A loud bang erupted through the chaos and the unsub fell to the ground. She scurried up from the ground, her eyes wide with fear. Harrison Clark's body laid completely still as his blood poured out from the bullet wound in his neck. Alex felt her fingers go numb. The gun dropped from her grasp. Not once did his chest raise, nor did he blink. A shaking breath released from her lungs. Harrison Clark was nothing but a dead body. She stood there in shock.

 _Dead_.

Alex's world fell into slow motion. Following JJ's demand, a group of EMT's rushed to Caleb's aid. His chest heaved up and down. The SUV headlights blinded Alex's vision as she slowly walked forward. She wiped the line of fresh blood away from her mouth with the back of her hand. As she broke the barrier between the lawn and the police cars, she was bombarded with questions from both agents and officers if she was hurt. She kept moving past all of them in silence, like a floating ghost. That's exactly what she felt like after all. Reid came rushing up to her, only to be stopped by Morgan pulling him back by the shoulder indicating to let her be.

* * *

The station was unusually quiet as the team went to go fill out paperwork and gather their belongings. George, coming through the back door, eyed the team of young, talented agents. His eyes scanned all the way to the back where Alex trailed behind. Morgan stood beside him in passing, the two congratulating each other on the end of the case—no matter how grim the outcome may have been.

" _Hmph_." George sounded, his eyes trailing off.

"Something wrong, detective?" Morgan wondered.

"I don't get what she's still doing here." He shook his head, watching Alex stop at her father's empty desk. "She should be at the hospital with her brother."

"Hotch offered, she just shook her head. Hasn't said a word since." George sighed at Morgan's information.

"I'm going to go get a car and take her."

"I've got it." Morgan offered.

"You sure?" Morgan nodded without hesitation.

* * *

Her body ached almost as much as her mind. Bruises already had begun forming where Harrison managed to hit her. Alex was silent, still. She closed her eyes, quietly sighing. She was tired, all she wanted to do was go to bed. She didn't want to think anymore—not about Caleb, not about her father's empty desk, not about how easily convincing Harrison Clark seemed to be—she just wanted to sleep.

"Kennedy." Hotch approached. With weary eyes, Alex looked to her higher up. She already had an idea in her head of what Hotch was going to say. It was that she shouldn't have been put on this case in the first place. Or maybe she was in trouble for killing the unsub. She'd been at the BAU for about five months, maybe that was too soon for her to have a killing notched onto her belt. In her mind, she had no choice. Harrison was milliseconds from pulling the trigger at Caleb, possibly hitting something more fatal than he had in the first shot. Alex, no matter how much she disliked Caleb at the moment, would refuse for that to happen. Even if it meant her being haunted by the fact she killed a human being—that she was the reason his heart stopped beating.

"We could have the plane here in about an hour. Would you want that?" He asked. Alex thought she had misheard him at first. Hotch wore his usual scowl, but he was offering something she wanted more than anything right now. Well, almost anything. She snapped herself out of her daze and nodded.

"Yeah."

"Be ready in an hour." Hotch nodded before walking off into the Chief's office to fill out any outstanding paperwork.

"Alexandra." George called, his tone somber. Alex looked up to meet his gaze, but she was met by him rushing towards her and engulfing her tightly in a hug. For a moment, she stood there still as a statue, her arms at her side. It was the first time somebody hugged her like that in years. With her family gone, she forgotten how nice contact like that felt. It was warm and comforting. It was something that eased her aching heart for just a moment. Alex soon melted into the hug, her own arms softly wrapping around George. "I just got you back. I'm not ready to lose you just yet." He held her for a minute. And, to be honest, Alex had wished it lasted longer. It made her feel safe. Something she hadn't felt like in the past hour.

"Why are you still here?" He asked. Alex looked to him in confusion. "If you're leaving back for Quantico tonight, you better not be wasting your last hour here."

"Caleb—"

" _Caleb_ just took a bullet for you. At least go say goodbye to him. Your friend's already in the car waiting for you. Go." Alex nodded in reply. George pulled her into another hug. "Goodbye better not mean four years this time. I expect to see you again soon." She nodded once more into his chest.

"I promise."

* * *

Hospitals had always given Alex the creeps. They raised the goose bumps on her arms, sending shivers down her spine. She couldn't pin point what exactly made her freaked out by them, but an eerie, anxious feeling always overtook her.

After getting out of the car Morgan had dropped her off in, Alex had made a bee line for the second floor, weaving herself down the hallways as nurses in scrubs made their ways in and out of rooms. She inhaled deeply, taking in the strong scent of antiseptic and rubbing alcohol. The floor was quiet, besides the quiet hum of nurses chatting and the incisive beeps of in-sync heart monitors. While passing the nurses station, Alex quickly noticed Caleb's name written on the dry erase board with an array of other patients. _Caleb Kennedy: Room 238. Nurse: Jackson._ Without stopping, she down the hallway in search of room 238. She moved herself into the doorway, stopping short immediately as she saw an unconscious Caleb. There was discoloring where a bruise was beginning to form on his forehead. A tube protruded out of his nose, along with an IV into his forearm. White bandages fastened to his shoulder peaked out of the hospital gown he was changed into. His heart rate monitor beeped ever so often, indicating, with time, he would be just fine.

While fighting over who would have control of the gun, Harrison had managed to shoot Caleb right below the clavicle. It was painful, but nonfatal. Alex couldn't help but continuously remind herself that she was the reason he was unconscious in that hospital bed. He had come to her rescue. Maybe he had tried to save her in hopes it would rekindle their relationship, or maybe it was out of sheer sibling love. Whatever it was, it resulted in him getting shot by a serial killer. Alex knew that if Caleb had been put in a life or death situation, she would have saved him no matter what their relationship was at the time. And then she realized, she _did_. Putting their current tiff behind for a moment, she had to thank him. She took another step into the room, wondering if she'd really wake him from his drug induced slumber.

"I wouldn't wake him if I were you." A nurse, who practically read Alex's mind, walked into the room. "He just got out of surgery. He needs his sleep." Alex turned around to watch the nurse go over and push a syringe filled fluid into Caleb's IV. "Are you family?" She finally asked.

"Yeah." Alex quietly answered. "His sister."

"Well, Ms. Kennedy, your brother is going to be just fine. The doctors extracted the bullet in surgery and it'll heal up nicely." She barely heard the nurse talk as she stared at her brother.

"Great." She stuffed her hands into her jacket. "I'm going to let him rest. Thanks."

"Wait—" The nurse halted Alex from turning around. "If you need to get going, I can deliver a message when he wakes up."

"Just, uh, just tell him I had to go…and thanks."

"Will do." The nurse nodded. Alex turned on her heel and, with one last look at her brother being worked on by the nurse, exited the room.

* * *

Alex sat on the opposite side of the plane than the rest of the team. Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Reid all sat at the seating quad playing cards while Morgan sat across from her. She sat on the couch, staring into the black abyss of the window view. Her arms hugged her legs which were tucked against her chest. At her side sat her iPod and headphones, untouched and unused. She was to deep in her own thoughts to get lost in music. At the other side of the plane, Reid watched from afar, wondering what exactly was going on in her head. Rossi happened to be doing the same, but he knew very well what was going on in her head. He had felt the same after his first kill—the remorse even though the life snuffed out belonged to a scum bag, the haunting feeling, the regret, the pain…it all was overpowering. Killing someone took a part of innocence away. Taking a life was a big deal after all, and having your own flesh and blood injured in the process was even bigger.

"Excuse me." Rossi quietly announced before slipping out of his seat He disappeared to the coffee alcove and opened up the cabinet underneath, taking out the scotch he saved for those _special_ cases. He grabbed a crystal whiskey glass and poured the amber liquid into it. He hoped it would at least slightly calm her nerves, not to mention her mind. Silently, he walked to her. He stood beside the couch, finally clearing his throat to catch her attention. He jutted the glass out, only for her to stare at it.

"For nights like these." He whispered. Alex looked between the glass of alcohol and himself before finally taking it. She nodded her head in appreciation. Rossi nodded back. And as he went back to take his seat and continue his card game, Alex went back to staring out the window and sipping on the pungent liquid.

* * *

The team finally reached the BAU, and each and every one of them couldn't get the thought of going home out of their minds as one-thirty lurked around the corner. Alex stood at her desk, her go bag tossed carelessly on her chair. Her eye lids drooped in exhaustion. She didn't even know how she'd drive home in this state. The weariness eating away at her core drained her. Rossi's scotch had managed to help her nerves, but it also added to her tiredness. All she wanted to do was curl up in her own bed.

"Kennedy." Hotch called as she finished putting paperwork into the 'to-do' section of her desk. She looked up to meet his gaze as he walked over. "I'm going to have Anderson take you home."

"I'm fine. I'm just tired." She disagreed.

"Exactly why I don't want you driving. Anderson's taking you home." He ordered. Alex could see the brunet haired agent lurking in the distance, waiting to follow Hotch's instructions. She sighed.

"Hotch, I can't deal with Anderson right now."

"I'll drive her." Reid offered, standing up from his desk. Hotch looked over to Alex, waiting for approval. Wearily, she nodded. Reid filed some papers into his desk drawer before grabbing his go bag.

* * *

Reid had chosen to take the metro two days ago, and his car was still at his apartment. Thus, the two young agents piled into Alex's Chevy. She quietly took residents in her passenger seat as Reid sat in the drivers. Alex leaned back against her seat, staring out the blurring road. She was afraid that if she'd open her mouth, a sob would escape and tears would follow. She yearned for the car ride to be over so she could be all in her lonesome. Millions of thoughts buzzed around her mind—her brother's unconscious image plagued her the most. The memory of him falling to the ground after Harrison shot him came in close second. And Harrison. Harrison managed to trick her, and all of Summit. He tricked his victims. Tricked them and violently took their lives. He was sly and cunning. Alex wandered over to wondering how his wife would take learning of her ex-husbands death. She, being the reason he began killing, would blame herself. But Alex knew that it was only a matter of time that he could have controlled his urges. If his wife hadn't left when she did, God knows she could have been his first victim.

The car came to a slowing stop, pulling in front of Alex's apartment building. Reid cleared his throat, catching Alex's attention. She looked over to him, almost surprised to have someone beside her. She shook it off and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Thanks for the ride." She quietly said. She waited for Reid to reply, but he kept silent. He unbuckled his seatbelt and dipped his hand into the pocket of his cardigan. As his heart palpitated in sheer anxiousness, he pulled out a folded envelope.

"Caleb left this for you." He quietly piped up, handing her the envelope with her name scribbled on the front. Alex glared to the piece of mail Reid held out for her, debating whether or not to take it. She already had a feeling what was inside. Caleb must have given it to him before he got shot. Alex wondered if she really wanted to read what was in the envelope, if she really wanted to face the problem at hand between the two right now.

Reluctantly, she took the envelope. She slipped her finger underneath the flap, carefully opening up the paper and pulling out the letter. With shaking hands, she unfolded the note and began reading the script writing.

 _Alex,_

 _I really don't know how someone convinced you to to read this, but by some miracle, you are. And before you roll your eyes, crumple this up, and toss it in the garbage like you used to with Grandma's letters, give me a chance. One last chance._

 _Sadly, I know I don't deserve this last chance. I take full responsibility for the mistakes I've made. I regret everything my actions caused. Everything I've destroyed. There's nothing more I regret than that night. Every day I wish I could rewind time and go back. Not even to save dad, God bless his soul, but to make sure the last four years never happened. I know you don't want apologies, but I have to say sorry. It's me, it's my fault. I drowned in pain, and I know you did too. I don't deserve any of your forgiveness, and if I were your shoes, I wouldn't give it either._

 _I'd try offering an explanation of what I did, but there's really no excuses. Dads death was unexpected—he died too soon, too young. I needed a reason to cope and I guess, at the time, blaming you felt like the best option. It was my answer. Looking back, I now know how much of an idiot I am. Looking back…I don't understand myself. I've thought about exactly how you must have felt. How your own brother turned his back on you…how much of a horrible traitor I am. After everything that's happened, after all I've done, I deserve you not wanting anything to do with me._

 _The last four years without you have been lonely to say the least. The first two I continued to convince myself what I did was for the best. After that, it was too late. It's been a long time. Even when we didn't talk, I wished only the best for you. I started looking you up about a year ago. I hadn't had the guts to type your name into google but one day I just did. A few months ago I found your name on the FBI's website. First as an intern and then hired as an agent. At first, I've got to admit, I was surprised. But I shouldn't have been. Caring for those around you has always your best trait. It's what made you extraordinary. It makes happy to know how far you've gone at only 26._

 _In some sort of way, I'm almost happy this crazy guy popped up in town. Because if not, our paths would have never crossed and I wouldn't have had the courage to see you again. And seeing you again, even through all the anger you have for me, it's like time stopped. It was just yet another reminder of my mistakes. You're all I have. If you haven't thrown this letter out yet, thank you for giving me one last chance to say what was on my mind. If you don't want anything to do with me again, I get it and I guess this is also our goodbye. If it is, I want you to know, Alex, you'll never be alone. I'll always be here to look after. I'm sorry I failed to be the big brother I should have been. As I said before, I know you don't want apologies. But I have say I'm sorry one last time for all the damage I've caused…for how I tore our little family apart. Just know I love you no matter what happens, Alex._

 _Always,_

 _Caleb._

Alex's throat grew dry as the letter came to an end. A tightness engulfed her chest. She didn't know what to say, what to think. Her mind drew a blank. It shocked her that Caleb kept an eye out for her, that he wrote the letter in the first place. Knowing the kind of person, he is, Alex knew it took all his pride to muster up something this big. It gave her some sense of satisfaction that Caleb knew how she felt—how lonely the last four years were. Now, after tonight, she yearned to talk to her brother. To possibly have him back in her life. And the fact that Harrison almost took that away from her scared Alex more than she'd like to admit. Unable to think any longer, she folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope. Reid watched her every move, wondering what she'd do next.

"Thanks again for the ride." She muttered.

"My pleasure. I'll drop your car off in the morning?" He confirmed her earlier suggestion. Alex nodded, opening the passenger door. Reid's fingers drummed anxiously against his leg. "Do you—do you want me to walk you up? I can help you up with your bag." Alex didn't have to look down to the small duffle bag by her feet to know he only offered to make sure she was okay and didn't completely break down. And as thoughtful as it was, she shook her head. She stepped out of the car and grabbed her duffle in one hand, the letter in the other.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She quietly said, shutting the door behind her. Reid, feeling uneasy to leave his coworker like this in a time of need, watched her the whole way until she disappeared into the elevator.

* * *

The walk up to her apartment was quiet. It was the middle of the night, and everyone in the building was asleep. Except Alex. The keys clicked as they unlocked the front door and she stepped into the pitch black apartment. She flicked a light switch, turning on one of the lamps. Closing and locking the door behind her, Alex tossed her go-bag and keys to the floor. Her mind couldn't help but wonder over to Harrison again. She thought about how well he tricked everyone. How he tricked his victims and violently took their lives—how he was sly and cunning. How he was no more. Alex stared out to her empty apartment. It was quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was lonely. And a hallow feeling engulfed her as she realized that. Her body felt empty, all the emotions that had been drained from her now came flooding in.

 _She_ was the one to take Harrison's life. She was the reason his heart stopped beating. She, Alex Kennedy, pulled the trigger to take the shot that snuffed out his life. And no matter how horrible of a person Harrison was, the guilty feeling would forever haunt her.

 _She_ was also the reason Caleb was lying unconscious in the hospital. He was fresh out of surgery because he wanted to protect her. Caleb could have died tonight in vain. All for her. Sure, she knew all this before, but now it hit her like a bus. It was her. All of this was Alex's fault. No one else was to blame.

The hallow feeling consumed her, filling her body with a dark void. Though all she had wanted was to curl up in her own bed, she couldn't move. Alex slid down the door and sat on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling them close to her chest, as the silence of her apartment sunk in.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, the reviews on the last chapter really warmed my heart! I'm hoping to get as much for this chapter, I worked hard and I'd really like some love for it! Please leave your comments and thoughts and all! Much love.**


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